


The Fire Queen - a sequel to Frozen 2

by theRhuhenian



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fire, Gen, Ice, Kingdom of Arendelle (Disney), Marriage, Redemption, Revenge, Teen Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:28:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 69,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24926176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theRhuhenian/pseuds/theRhuhenian
Summary: The wedding of Queen Anna and her fiancé Kristoff is fast approaching, and Arendelle is abuzz with excitement. However, in Northuldra, a young woman with magical powers over fire arrives at the coast. Just how will Anna, Elsa, and everyone else in Arendelle cope with the arrival of the Fire Queen?
Relationships: Anna & Elsa (Disney), Anna/Kristoff (Disney)
Comments: 127
Kudos: 52
Collections: Frozen Stories ❄️





	1. A Wedding on the Horizon

“Not long until your wedding, Your Majesty!” a young lady in the courtyard of Arendelle Castle called in the direction of Queen Anna.

“Thank you!” Anna said in a nervous reply, managing a little wave.

In Arendelle, the sun had risen on a calm summer morning, the sunshine reflecting off of the fjord. Arendelle castle, adorned with it’s icy decorations, stood proudly next to the harbour. The quaint town, with all of its shops and houses, lied a short walk away from it.

At the castle, the gates were wide open and the people were enjoying the courtyard. Children were happily playing in the fountains, their parents keeping a watchful eye on them. Queen Anna was walking with her handler Kai, fretfully going over last minute wedding preparations.

“Is the chapel ready? Have all the guests replied to their invites? What about the food? Do we have enough salad plates?” Anna asked while Kai read over a huge list. Olaf, a magical animated snowman created by Anna’s older sister Elsa, was pretending to glance over the list too.

“It’s all in hand, your Majesty,” he assured her. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must just go and check on the kitchen.”

“Very well,” Anna nodded as Kai went on his way.

“Have you had enough practice at being a page, Olaf?” Anna asked.

“Oh sure, I’ve been reading a lot of books!” Olaf replied with a huge grin.

Anna laughed at him nervously.

“Relax! Everything’s fine!” called Kristoff, walking up to Anna with his reindeer Sven. With him was Ryder, a young Northuldra man who Kristoff had become firm friends with.

“Oh, hi honey!” said Anna, giving Kristoff a peck on the cheek. “I know I shouldn’t worry, I just want everything to be perfect!”

Anna turned to Ryder. “How are you finding Arendelle, Ryder? How does it compare to Northuldra?” Anna asked him with a smile.

“It’s…different!” Ryder replied with his hand on the back of his head. “Everyone is very friendly but there’s so much I’m not used to! At least I have Sven here to remind me of home!” he smiled as he gave Sven a Pat on the head.

“Have you written your best man speech?” Anna asked.

“Don’t worry, it’s all ready!” he replied.

Sven looked up at Kristoff and grunted discontentedly.

“Aw, you okay there buddy? Did you want to be my best man?” Kristoff asked jokingly. He moved over to Sven and started to do his goofy voice.

“Yes, we’re best buddies, I should be your best man!” Kristoff said in Sven’s voice before standing up.

“Don’t worry Sven, you’ve got a very important job to do!” Kristoff said to Sven as he winked and pointed at him with both fingers.

Sven grunted again. “Hey, you’re hungry aren’t you?” Kristoff asked him. Sven grinned and nodded. “Alright buddy, let’s find you some carrots!”

With that, Kristoff and Ryder waved goodbye to Anna, leaving her to continue going over the wedding preparations.

Later that evening, Anna sat at the head of a long dining table. Kristoff was at her side, with Ryder sat on the other. The men devoured their food, while Anna sighed and prodded hers around her plate. Kristoff looked up at her with his mouth full.

“What’s up?” Kristoff asked Anna while leaning over his plate.

Anna sighed again and tried to smile. She glanced over at Kristoff. “It’s just that...I don’t know if I deserve this wedding…” Anna admitted as she looked to the side.

Kristoff swallowed his food, put his cutlery down, and stood next to Anna. He squatted down and put his arm around her.

“Hey, come on, if anyone deserves a big day, it’s you!” Kristoff assured her. “You’ve been through so much!”

Anna smiled a little and put her hand on Kristoff’s. Just then Kai entered the room.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty,” he began to say with his hands behind his back, “there is a pressing matter to attend to–“

Kristoff held his other hand up to Kai. “Could you give us five minutes?” he interrupted.

Kai looked down and saw Kristoff consoling Anna. “Of course,” he said before bowing. He then turned and left.

“As I was saying,” Kristoff continued, “you’ve been through so much! You had such a tough childhood, being kept away from your sister. Then you lost your parents and found out about your sister’s ice powers at her coronation. After that you saved your sister after she went ice crazy and froze the kingdom. You survived a frozen heart, saved your sister, and even punched the evil Prince Hans in the face! And let’s not forget that you freed the forest of Northuldra!”

“Yeah, that was awesome! You got Earth Giants to destroy the dam that was keeping the forest trapped in mist! That was amazing!” Ryder added.

“That’s right!” Kristoff agreed. “And since Elsa discovered she was the Fifth Spirit of nature and abdicated, you’ve done such a great job as queen!”

“I hope the people think that!” Anna gushed.

“Are you kidding?” Kristoff joked. “Everyone is so excited! This wedding isn’t just for you and me, it’s for everyone. Arendelle was nearly destroyed by a tidal wave when the dam burst, everyone’s looking forward to having something to celebrate!”

“I guess,” Anna giggled a little as she looked down. She then looked at Kristoff.

“But I worry about you too!” Anna smiled. “Being a Prince of Arendelle will be very different from your old life as an ice harvester!”

“I know! I know!” Kristoff nodded. “But you don’t need to worry about that! I know what’s expected of me. And anyway, I’ve sold my sled and Sven is taken care of. My ice harvesting days are behind me. Everything is in hand!”

Anna smiled and shook her head a little. “What would I do without you?” she whispered.

Kristoff gave Anna a kiss on the cheek, then went back to his seat.

“Think about the fun stuff!” Kristoff exclaimed. “Ryder and I have our party to look forward to!”

“That’s right!” Ryder agreed.

“Party…” Anna said as she looked at the floor. “I do hope Elsa can make it to mine!”

“Don’t worry, she’ll be here!” Kristoff assured her. “When has your sister ever let you down?”

Anna smiled a little. “I know, I know,” she said as she held her arm and looked to the side. “It’s just that we haven’t seen her for awhile.”

“She’s been busy!” Kristoff replied. “Who knows what magic she’s been getting up to?”

“I guess…” Anna said. “I wonder what she’s doing in Northuldra right now?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, thanks for taking the time to read The Fire Queen, my first proper foray into the world of Frozen fan fiction! I always want to know what people think of my work, good and bad, so please comment wherever you like!


	2. The Fire Queen Arrives

In the forest of Northuldra, Elsa was struggling to sleep in her tent. The night bore the brunt of a summer storm. The wind howled, lightning lit up the sky, and the rains lashed down. In her tent, Elsa tossed and turned, her thoughts taken up by those of her sister’s impending wedding. Would everything go according to plan? Would it be an event the whole kingdom could be proud of? Elsa shut her eyes tightly and tried to block out the crashes of thunder.

Meanwhile, off the coast of Northuldra, a small sailboat lurched up and down through the raging sea. On board was a young woman who leaned over the side and held her hair as the waves threw the boat around. At the helm, a man stared into the distance, knowing he had to take the boat ever onwards. A flash of lightning illuminated the coast and the forest. The young woman looked up, forgot her queasiness, and smirked. She stood up and placed a firm hand on the man’s trembling shoulder. With her head right next to his ear, she pointed, and the boat made its way towards the shore.

The young woman dropped into the knee high water with a sinister smirk on her face. As she got off the boat, the storm relented and the sun began to rise. The boat turned around and sailed back out to sea. The woman had green eyes, plaited blond hair with red streaks in it, and she wore nothing but red shoes and a short, bright scarlet dress. As she marched along the beach, steam rose up from her. With each step she took, flames shot from her heels. She stopped and held out her hand, before laughing with glee as she shot a fireball out of her palm and into the air.

She had the forest of Northuldra in her sights. By the time she reached it the sun was shining brightly. She immersed herself amongst the trees. The morning sun shone through the canopy, leaving crisp shadows on the ground. Birds sang, rabbits hopped around the forest floor, and mischievous squirrels jumped from branch to branch.

The young woman looked around, taking in her surroundings. Then she placed her hands on a tree, and felt the roughness of the bark. She closed her eyes, and flames shot out of her fingertips. Fire crept up the tree, causing all the animals on it to scamper away. Soon, the tree was totally engulfed. The young woman looked up, delighted as all of the branches were consumed. She shot a jet of flame out of the palm of her hand onto the neighbouring tree, and it too was quickly ablaze. The young woman laughed, and flames appeared in her eyes. She turned herself into a fireball and darted from tree to tree, setting them all on fire. She stood in the middle of the conflagration as branches came crashing down around her. Thick black smoke rose up, and soon the sky became black as night. The more the forest burned, the more the young woman laughed. The flames behind her eyes grew brighter, and fire shot from the red strands in her hair. She laughed to herself even more, and launched plumes of flame from her hands into the air in celebration.

The fire she was surrounded by made her feel more and more powerful. She had found her new kingdom.


	3. A Confrontation

The next morning Honeymaren, the sister of Ryder and close friend of Elsa’s, was up early to survey the Northuldra campsite. She looked around, and shook her head and tutted when she realised that Elsa had not yet woken. With a smile, she went to Elsa’s tent and cleared her throat.

“Elsa!” she gently called. “Elsa! Are you awake?”

Honeymaren folded her arms and rolled her eyes as she heard rustling from inside the tent.

“You haven’t forgotten what day it is?” Honeymaren asked as she narrowed her eyes and smirked.

“No, not at all,” came a weak reply from the tent.

Elsa’s head popped out. “Sorry, I didn’t sleep much last night,” Elsa said before yawning.

“Yeah, that was some storm!” Honeymaren shrugged. “But it’s passed now. The camp is fine!”

“Oh good!” said Elsa as she looked around before clambering out of the tent. 

“So, today’s the day!” Honeymaren said excitedly. “Are you all ready for Anna’s wedding?” she asked.

“Yes!” Elsa replied, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “I’m all set to go back to Arendelle!”

“You will remember what I said about my brother, won’t you?” Honeymaren asked playfully. “I know that being the best man is a big responsibility, and I’m worried that he will find everything a little too much.”

“Don’t worry!” said Elsa as she put her hand on Honeymaren’st arm. “I’m sure Ryder will be fine. Of course I’ll look out for him.”

Just then Bruni, the fire spirit that took the form of a salamander, scurried up to them. Elsa picked him up and he started to run around in the palm of her hands.

“What is it?” Elsa asked curiously.

Bruni turned around, and beckoned Elsa to go north. She found the elder Yelena, and put together a scouting party to follow Bruni.

They embarked out of the camp, and soon they could see smoke billowing from the forest in the north. Now with a sense of urgency, they ran there as quickly as they could. When they reached the edge of the burning forest, the young woman in the red dress emerged, creating fire from her feet as she walked. She stood a good distance away from Elsa’s party. Bruni had run on ahead, and he scampered up to the young woman.

“Aren’t you cute!” the woman enthused while bending down to pick Bruni up. She held him in the palms of her hands, unfazed by how hot he was. Bruni scowled and looked like he was ready to pounce while flames rose up from his back. The young woman opened her eyes wide, tilted her head forward, and leaned in close to him.

“Oh, you make fire! Just like me!” she marvelled. “Do you want to be my pet?”

Bruni shook his head and cowered. He leapt out of her hands and scurried back to Elsa, who had just caught up. The young woman smirked as he ran away from her.

“Who are you?” Elsa asked the young woman fearfully.

“I am Freya, the Rizucian Queen of Fire!” she declared, raising her arms in the air. “And this forest is now part of my kingdom of ashes!” She laughed at Elsa’s party, her eyes glowing bright.

“Well, Freya, I am Elsa, protector of Northuldra,” Elsa replied as she narrowed her eyes. “And it’s my duty to take care of this forest.”

Elsa began to use her magic to put out the fires. Freya gasped as she stared at the icy shards emanating from Elsa's fingertips. She hunched over, and her gaze darted between Elsa and the trees.

“No!” Freya cried. “Stop it!”

Freya used her powers to start setting the trees on fire again, but Elsa quickly extinguished the flames. Freya clenched her fists and gritted her teeth as she glared at Elsa through fiery eyes. She cast a wall of fire in front of Elsa’s party, and they all took a step backwards. Elsa put out the fire in front of her, and began to slowly walk towards Freya with a determined look on her face.

At the sight of this, Freya jolted upright, raised her arm over her mouth, and began to back up. “Keep away from me!” she shouted, and she shot a jet of fire right at Elsa. Without hesitation, Elsa raised her hand and fired a jet of ice to meet it. The streams of magical ice and fire met in the middle, reacting to give steam and water. The two women stopped where they were and faced each other down, not wanting to be the first to stop using their powers. After a few seconds, Freya smirked then pretended to be bored. She held her other hand up to her mouth to feign a yawn, then she inspected her nails.

“Do you want to do this all day, grandma?” Freya said to Elsa sarcastically.

“No, not really,” Elsa replied with a smile.

With that, Elsa increased the power of her ice beam, and it started to edge it’s way closer to Freya. She raised her other arm as she tried to fight back, but Elsa’s power was too strong for her. The ice beam reached her, and she was quickly engulfed in a great flash of powdered snow. When it settled, Freya found she was lying on her back, encased in a huge block of ice with just her head sticking out. Elsa smiled at Freya’s helplessness, quickly put out the rest of the fires, and slowly walked over to her.

Elsa knelt down next to Freya. “Now, perhaps we could talk?” Elsa said calmly.

Freya scrunched her face up and tried to look away from Elsa. “I’m not telling you anything, you old witch!” she shouted as she struggled to break herself free from the ice.

“You’re not going anywhere soon!” replied Elsa. “So, Freya, where did you say you were from?”

Freya rolled her eyes back and sighed, then stopped struggling as she realised how helpless she was. “I’m from Rizucia," she said before tutting. "I finally broke free from my parent’s castle, and now the whole town belongs to my flames!” she said with relish.

Elsa looked concerned. “You mean, you burned down a whole town?” she asked nervously.

Freya looked up at Elsa with fire in her eyes. “The houses, the shops, the school, everything!” she declared through gritted teeth.

Elsa gulped. She’d never seen someone so full of gleeful anger before.

“The...the school?” Elsa stuttered. “Does that mean…?” she said nervously, fearing the worst.

“Ha! No!” Freya laughed. “I watched from afar as the kids watched it burn. No school for them! Aren’t they lucky? The looks on their little faces were priceless!”

Elsa breathed a sigh of relief. “One more question. Just how old are you?” she asked.

“I’m sixteen,” Freya told her. “My reign has only just begun!”

Elsa felt a chill run down her spine as she got up to talk to Yelena.

“What do we do with her?” Yelena asked. “Just look at the forest!” she said, gesturing towards the hundreds of burnt trees that Freya had left in her wake. “I’ve never seen such destruction!”

“The ice looks to be holding her, and she doesn’t look bothered by how cold it is,” Elsa replied with concern in her voice. “Her magic must be keeping her warm inside.”

“We can’t leave her in the ice forever,” said Yelena. She then looked up at Elsa with wide eyes. “And you have to go to Arendelle for your sister’s wedding today. We all know how important that is. You can’t miss it!”

“Let me out of here!” Freya screeched as she stared at Elsa.

Elsa was torn. She knew she couldn’t miss Anna and Kristoff’s wedding, but now she was faced with a danger the likes of which she had never seen before. Freya had already destroyed so much of the forest, who could tell what she would do if she was let out? Yelena came up with an idea.

“Leave her with us,” Yelena said. “We will take her to the outskirts of our camp. There, we will dig a deep pit and put her in it. That should hold her for a couple of days. Then when you return, we can find a more permanent solution.”

“Are you sure?” Elsa asked cautiously. “I don’t want to leave the forest. If she got out…”

Yelena took Elsa’s hand and interrupted her. “It’s only for two days! If we really need you, we can use the wind spirit to send for you!” she said with a smile.

“Well, okay, if you’re sure,” Elsa replied, still not entirely convinced. “I’ll do all I can to make sure she can’t get out before we leave.”

With that, Yelena told the rest of the Northuldra what her plan was. Two men hauled Freya’s block of ice upwards, so that she was standing up.

“Just you wait until I get out of here!” Freya snarled.

They tied a rope around the block of ice, and the reindeer began to drag her back to their camp. Along the way, Elsa and Yelena talked about Freya’s powers.

“I never imagined the spirits would give someone power over fire,” Yelena said, sounding puzzled.

“I don't think this magic is a gift from the spirits,” Elsa replied. “I can’t sense anything. This magic is completely new to me.”

“Are you two old hags talking about my powers?” Freya asked angrily. “If you must know, I was born like this. My parents didn’t know what to do, so they locked me up in the castle tower. But my powers grew too strong for them to contain, and I escaped. That’s when I began my reign as the Fire Queen!”

Freya cackled and her eyes lit up as she reminded herself of the destruction she caused. Elsa looked up at Freya and frowned in worry.

They reached the edge of the Northuldra camp, and they began to dig a deep pit to keep Freya in. Meanwhile, Elsa wondered about the right thing to do. In the end, she wrote a note for Anna, telling her to put the Arendellian soldiers on guard, just in case. She really didn’t want to worry her sister, but she felt that she had to warn her too. She called the wind spirit and sent the note to Arendelle.

The Northuldra dug for hours, until the pit was too deep for anyone to clamber out of on their own. They pushed Freya in, her ice block snugly fitting inside it. She reached the bottom and looked up.

“What are you doing? You can’t just leave me here!” Freya shouted angrily.

“Don’t worry,” Yelena called back. “This is just until we figure out what to do with you. We’ll get you some food.”

Elsa put her hand to her chin and looked down. "It's not enough," she mused. Just then, she clicked her finger and opened her eyes wide. "I know!" she exclaimed. Turning her face to the breeze, she closed her eyes and gently smiled. She opened her eyes, turned to Yelena, and let out a sigh. Yelena smiled in return.

After a few moments, a great thumping noise could be heard coming from the north. The ground shook as the thumping got closer. In the pit, Freya looked up and her head darted from side to side. "What...what is that?" she yelled.

Elsa knelt down and looked into the pit with her arm draped across her knee. "I've summoned a guardian of the north to watch over you!" she calmly told Freya.

Freya looked up in terror as she was bathed in darkness. From the north, an Earth Giant had joined them. It squatted down and its huge, cold stone face loomed over Freya. All she could do was tremble.

"Don't let her out of that pit!" Elsa commanded the Earth Giant. The Giant stood up, its body creaking. It gave Elsa a slow, knowing nod, then sat down with an enormous crash, making everyone flinch. Once the dust settled, the Northuldra looked at Elsa with contented grins.

“You can go now,” Yelena softly said with a smile. “Go to your sister. We can take care of things here. We’ll watch her round the clock.”

“Well, alright,” Elsa smiled back. “Let me know if you need me straight away, okay?”

Elsa said her goodbyes, then summoned the Water Nokk, the physical embodiment of the water spirit that took the form of a magnificent horse. She climbed on its back, and it galloped across the water to Arendelle.


	4. Security

Elsa arrived in Arendelle that afternoon, just as Anna was expecting her. Anna saw her sister and ran to her to give her a hug.

“It’s so good to see you again sis!” Anna enthused.

“You too!” Elsa replied as she took Anna’s hands.

“We got your note,” she said to Elsa as her smile turned to a concerned frown. “Why do we need to put the soldiers on guard? What’s happening?”

Elsa sighed. “It shouldn’t be anything to worry about, but we have a visitor.”

“Wait, what?” Anna blurted out. “What visitor?”

“A young girl. She seems to have powers similar to mine, but over fire,” Elsa replied.

“A girl with power over fire? How? Where’s she from? How did she get to Northuldra?” Anna asked.

“We don’t know how she got here, but she says she’s the Queen of Rizucia,” said Elsa.

“Rizucia?” said Anna, sounding confused. She thought for a second. “Oh yes, I’ve seen it on maps. It’s not far from here, is it?”

“That’s right,” Elsa answered. “But in my years as queen, I never once met any dignitary from there. I always thought that was unusual.”

“Well, what do we do? Is she dangerous? I don’t want to cancel the wedding. We’ve been planning for months, and tomorrow guests from all over the world will be arriving!” Anna insisted.

“She’s trapped in a block of ice in a deep pit near the Northuldra camp. She’s a long way from here, she doesn’t even know about Arendelle. I promised the Northuldra I’d go straight back after the wedding to deal with her properly,” said Elsa.

“Well, that's reassuring!” said Anna, beginning to smile. “But we should be careful. I don’t want to risk anything going wrong with the wedding!” she declared.

Elsa agreed, and they went to find General Mattias, the recently-promoted commander of Arendelle’s armed forces. He was sitting at a desk in his office, taking care of some paperwork.

“Good afternoon General!” Anna said to him in her official manner.

“Your Majesty!” he replied, sounding surprised. “What can I do for you?”

“We need to talk about security for the wedding tomorrow. I want every soldier in Arendelle to be on patrol,” Anna commanded.

Mattias furrowed his brow in confusion. “Yes, Your Majesty. But the security arrangements we discussed are already in place. Isn’t putting every soldier on patrol a little extreme?”

“Elsa has told me about a visitor who may cause us a problem. We need to be sure that no one gets into the wedding who shouldn’t be there,” Anna said sternly. “Make sure the guest lists are double checked and don’t let anyone in who hasn’t been invited.”

“Very well, Your Majesty.” Mattias replied. Anna and Elsa left him to get on with his work.

“We should find out what we can about Rizucia,” Anna suggested.

Anna and Elsa sought out Kai, their royal handler. They found him in the castle.

“Kai, we need to ask you a question,” Anna said. “What do you know about Rizucia?”

“Rizucia! Now there’s a name I haven’t heard for some time!” he exclaimed. “It’s a kingdom not too far from here, maybe a couple of days sailing to the west. It’s been closed off for, oh…” Kai began counting the years in his head. “Fifteen, sixteen years, maybe? Now, this is a total mystery, but one day it’s port stopped accepting foreign ships. No one from Arendelle has been there since.”

“Thank you Kai, this is all very interesting,” said Elsa.

In her mind, Elsa understood Freya’s story. It was too similar to her own. She assumed that Freya was born with powers over fire, and that the country was immediately closed off to keep them a secret.

As for Anna, she was content with the new security arrangements. She put them to the back of her mind, and thought about her big day.


	5. Anna's Party

It was late afternoon and Kristoff, Ryder and Olaf were sitting at the front of a wagon that Sven was getting ready to pull. Anna and Elsa stood next to them, ready to wave them off.

"All set for your party, guys?" Anna asked happily.

"You bet!" Kristoff replied. "Everything we need for a party is in this wagon. Ready to see my family everyone?"

Everyone else in the wagon cheered, ready to set off for a party with the trolls.

"See you tomorrow honey!" Anna said to Kristoff as she reached up to give him a kiss. "Have fun tonight!"

Everyone in the wagon set off into the woods to see the trolls, leaving Anna alone with Elsa.

"Let's go and have our party!" Anna happily said to Elsa, taking her arm.

Anna and Elsa went to the library to play games. They were playing charades, and it was Elsa's turn to describe a clue to Anna.

"Hey, seeing as the boys aren't here you can make ice sculptures!" Anna said excitedly.

"Well, okay, even if it is kind of cheating!" Elsa chuckled as she read a piece of paper that told her what she was supposed to act out. After reading the word on the paper she laughed to herself and shook her head. Anna was curious as to what Elsa had just read.

Elsa held out one hand, and with the other she made a bust of Hans, the young prince from the Southern Isles who proposed marriage to Anna at Elsa's coronation, then left her for dead instead of saving her life after she was accidentally struck by Elsa's magic.

Anna scrunched up her face, marched over to Elsa and snatched the bust of Hans from her.

"Villain!" Anna scowled as she threw the bust of Hans into the fireplace. It shattered as soon as it hit the back of it.

Anna found the experience very cathartic, and soon the sisters were laughing with each other. They both went back to the sofa and sat down on it together.

"This is just what I wanted," said Anna fondly. "Just you and me!"

Anna let out a gentle sigh. "Do you think mother and father would be proud of me?" she asked Elsa.

Elsa put her hand on Anna's shoulder. "Of course they would!" she replied. "They would never have expected you to be queen, and now here you are, doing so well. I know that more than anything, they would want you to be happy. If they could see you now they'd be so proud."

Anna looked up at Elsa and smiled. "I hope so," she said gently.

"Come with me," said Elsa, getting up. "I want to show you something."

Elsa took Anna out of the library and down the corridor. They stopped in front of two paintings that were hanging side by side. The first depicted the royal family when they were much younger, Elsa was around eight years old and standing at their parent's feet. Anna was five and being held by their mother. Anna and Elsa looked at it intently.

"Do you remember what we were like when we were children?" Elsa asked playfully.

"Yes! We used to be best buddies! We had so much fun!" Anna replied with a smile. "That was, until, you know, the accident."

Elsa smiled nervously. She knew that Anna was referring to the time Elsa accidentally struck her with her powers. After that incident, their father decided to isolate Elsa from the world and they grew up apart, only reuniting after Elsa's coronation.

Elsa wanted to shift Anna's attention to the next picture. It was painted about a year ago and showed Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven as they are now.

"The past is in the past," Elsa said softly. "This is our present," she said pointing at the second picture. "I know mother and father would be proud of us and what we've built. I don't know what the next picture will look like, but I know that we'll paint it together," Elsa said as she gestured towards an empty space on the wall.

Anna looked at Elsa and started to tear up a little before giving her a hug. "Thank you Elsa," she whispered.

"Now, this is your party," said Elsa, trying to change the subject back to fun. "What shall we do next?"

Anna's face lit up as she thought of an idea.

"Let's ride our bike around the halls!" she shouted.

Anna grabbed Elsa's hand and they found their tandem bike. They then laughed as they careened around the castle, bumping into suits of armour and riding down the stairs with joy.

After that, Anna and Elsa talked late into the night. Anna was so excited to be married the next day.


	6. Kristoff's Party

While Anna and Elsa had their party in the castle, Kristoff took Ryder, Olaf and Sven into the Valley of the Living Rock to see the trolls. They all entered a clearing to find it full of rocks.

“Wait, this is the family you were talking about?” asked Ryder, puzzled.

Kristoff nodded. Ryder couldn’t believe it, and he turned to Olaf.

“Seriously?” he asked Olaf.

“Yes!” Olaf squealed while holding his stick hands over his mouth. He knew what was about to happen and he couldn’t wait to see the look on Ryder’s face.

The rocks all sprang into life, and the trolls lept on Kristoff.

“Kristoff’s home!” came a cry from Bulda, the troll who had looked after Kristoff since he was a child.

“Woah!” shouted Ryder, taken by surprise.

A rather grumpy male troll called Elendig sidled up to Kristoff.

“Hey, what’s going on?” he asked.

Bulda jumped down from Kristoff. “Kristoff is getting married and he’s here for his party!” she replied.

“Who is he marrying, this guy?” Elendig asked while pointing his thumb at Ryder. “Hey, he’s quite a catch!” he smiled.

“No, no, no,” Bulda corrected him while shaking her head, “he’s marrying Princess Anna, remember? The nice young lady with the red hair?”

Elendig shrugged his shoulders.

“You must remember her,” Bulda insisted, “we had a troll wedding for them!”

Elendig drew a blank.

“You’d just passed a kidney stone,” Bulda told him.

“Oh yeah!” Elendig replied. He suddenly looked stern. “Thanks for reminding me.”

“Yeah, I remember that day!” Kristoff interrupted. “She was Princess Anna then. Don’t forget, she’s Queen Anna now!”

“Oh yes, that’s right,” Bulda enthused, “our Kristoff is marrying a queen, how exciting!”

Ryder leaned forwards and introduced himself to Bulda.

“Hi, I’m Ryder. I’m Kristoff’s best man!” he said as he shook Bulda’s hand.

“Oh hi!” Bulda enthused. She took his hand and started to lead him away from Kristoff. “Do you want some embarrassing stories about him for your best man speech? I’ve got lots! Did you know that he didn’t stop sucking his thumb until he was nine? And he’s always had a thing for reindeer, did you know–”

“Anyway,” Kristoff declared after clearing his throat. He leaned forwards and put his hands on his knees, “ready for the party everyone?” he asked.

The trolls cheered, and soon the party was in full swing. There was singing, dancing, and everyone was having a great time.

“Hey, I like these guys!” laughed Ryder as he gave one of the trolls a piggy back ride.

“They know how to have a good time!” replied Olaf while the different segments of him were carried around by several trolls.

The leader of the trolls, Grand Pabbie, hung back from the merriment as he usually did. He walked up to Kristoff to wish him well for his wedding.

“Have a wonderful day tomorrow Kristoff,” Pabbie said kindly.

“Aw, thank you!” Kristoff replied. “Hey Pabbie, do you think you could tell us what our future holds?” he asked curiously.

Pabbie nodded, smiled and composed himself. “Let me see what I can see,” he sighed happily.

Everyone stopped to watch Pabbie use his magic. He waved his arms in the air and smiled as he concentrated.

“I can see love, light, happiness, and…” Pabbie opened his eyes and suddenly looked deadly serious, “...and fire!”

“He’s talking about the wedding night!” one of the rambunctious trolls shouted. With that, the trolls went back to partying, leaving Pabbie with Kristoff.

“Fire?” Kristoff asked, confused. “What does that mean? Can you see anything else?”

“No,” Pabbie replied, “I’m sorry, the vision is too vague. Kristoff, be careful tomorrow, okay?”

“I will,” Kristoff replied firmly, before going back to the party.


	7. Back in Northuldra

Meanwhile in Northuldra, Freya was still being held at the bottom of the pit, guarded by a Northuldra and an Earth Giant. She was a long way from the Northuldra camp, trapped in a block of ice. She waited until the middle of the night, until she could hear snores from both of them. She knew it was time to act. With a smirk, she used her powers to heat up her body. The ice around her began to melt.

"As if a block of ice could hold me!" she whispered to herself.

When enough of the ice had melted, Freya crawled out and stood on top of it. She continued to heat up her body, using her powers to dry herself. As she did, steam rose up from her and out of the pit.

The Northuldra guarding Freya was woken by a hissing sound. He looked to the side, and saw that the Earth Giant was sleeping soundly. He looked towards the pit and saw the steam rising out of it. Reaching for his spear he stood up, stared at the pit and gulped. As he pointed his spear at the pit, he edged closer towards it. Suddenly, a fireball flew out, and Freya emerged. Before the Northuldra could react, Freya landed behind him and smothered his mouth with her hand. She yanked his ear towards her mouth and whispered as she started a fire in her other hand and held it in front of the Northuldra's face.

"Not. One. Word. Until. I .Tell. You," Freya commanded as the startled guard stared at the fire with wide eyes, his stifled shouts muffled by Freya's hand. "You know what I can do!" Freya smirked.

“Tell me where Elsa went,” Freya demanded through a whisper. “She tried to trap me in that ice, I need to teach her a lesson!”

“I...I can’t,” stammered the guard as Freya lowered her hand from his mouth. “I promised I wouldn’t tell you anything!”

Freya narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth, then put her hand back over the guard's mouth and made the fire in her palm higher.

“Tell me where Elsa is, or I will find your camp, and I will burn it all down!” she snarled at him.

The guard cowered before her and started to nod. “Okay, okay, I’ll tell you where she is,” he said.

Freya extinguished the fire and looked at him impatiently. “Well?” she asked with impertinence.

“She...she’s gone to Arendelle,” he told her.

“And what is this ‘Arendelle’?” Freya snarled.

“It’s a kingdom south of here, where Elsa was born,” the guard replied.

“I see,” said Freya menacingly. “How do I get there?”

The guard hesitated. Freya smirked, then held her palm open to him, made another fire in it and held it in front of his face. “Tell me!” she demanded.

The guard gulped in fear. “J...just follow the coast south, you can’t miss it!” he whispered while the Earth Giant continued to snore.

Freya closed her palm and the fire went out. “Thank you!” she whispered with mock exasperation. “That wasn’t so hard was it? Now, you see that pit that you trapped me in for hours?”

Freya pointed at the pit while the guard nervously nodded. “At the bottom is the nearest water. Now you, hop in!” she commanded.

The guard was puzzled. “What? Why?” he asked.

“I’ll show you why!” Freya hissed as she used her powers to set fire to his shoes.

“Ah!” the guard cried out in pain as he ran over to the pit and jumped inside. There was enough water left at the bottom to put the fires out.

"Help!" the guard shouted as loud as he could. "Help!"

There was a great huff from the Earth Giant as it started to stir. Once it had opened its eyes, it saw Freya out of the pit and raised its stone eyebrows. It lumbered to its feet as quickly as it could manage.

Freya clenched her fists and leaned forwards slightly as the Earth Giant gradually rose to its full height. Her hands lit up and flames appeared in her eyes as she smirked and looked up at the giant while her nose pointed towards the ground. The Giant raised its arm, and its huge open hand came hurtling towards Freya, trying to snatch her. Freya leapt up, turned herself into a fireball, and flew onto the Giant's shoulder. She held on tight, scampering from shoulder to shoulder and over its head as the Giant tried to swat her off.

"You protect the north, right?" Freya said into the Giant's ear as it continued to try and grab her. Turning herself back into a fireball, she flew back to the ground and stood north of the Giant. She made a fireball in her hand and stood back, getting ready to throw it. "Then do your duty!" she shouted as she hurled the fireball far off into the forest. The fireball arched through the night sky, and hit a tree in the far distance, causing it to explode into flames. The Giant opened its mouth and raised its stone eyebrows. Holding its arms out, it ran past Freya and started to make its way towards the tree.

As the guard lay helplessly at the bottom of the pit, Freya put her head over it and called down to him. “You're on your own now!” she shouted. And with that she left, making her way towards Arendelle.

Freya turned herself into a fireball and rapidly made her way south. After several minutes she stopped and emerged from the fireball bent double, trying to catch her breath.

“I just can’t keep that up for too long,” she thought to herself as she walked further along. Once she’d got her breath back, she turned into a fireball again. She stopped for several more breaks along the way.

By sunrise, Freya had made it to the outskirts of Arendelle. She watched as the sun rose over the castle. She was used to the splendor of Rizucia castle where she grew up, but to her, this was something else. She saw the ice that made up the castle structure and deduced that Elsa must be behind it. She strode towards the castle and the town, knowing exactly what she was going to do. She could see her revenge.


	8. The Wedding

It was the morning of Anna and Kristoff’s wedding. Freya walked towards Arendelle, taking in the views of the mountains, the grand castle, and the quaint little town. She stopped at a creek to have a quick wash and tend to her pleated hair. If she was going to greet the people of Arendelle, she wanted to look the part!

At the harbour, tall ships from all over the world docked. They were carrying kings and queens, dukes and duchesses, and all manner of invited wedding guests. They mingled with each other as they made their way to the castle.

“Bonjour mon ami!” an ambassador with a French accent said to an acquaintance. “I have not seen you since the coronation of Queen Elsa! How are you?”

“Oh grand, grand,” replied a dignitary with an Irish accent. “Fine weather for a wedding today!”

“Absolutment!” enthused the French ambassador. “I am so excited to see Queen Anna! I bet her wedding dress will be beautiful!”

The Irish dignitary nodded in agreement.

“Tell me mon ami, what do you know about the groom?” the French ambassador asked.

“Ah, the mysterious Kristoff Bjorgman!” the Irish dignitary replied as he shrugged his shoulders. “Not much, but I know that he’s a very lucky man!”

The two men laughed arm in arm as they made their way to the castle.

The invited guests brought extravagant wedding presents with them, all neatly wrapped up in pretty boxes. Royal footmen took all of the gifts into the picture gallery of the castle.

At the gates, security was tight. The guards had a long list of who was invited, and everyone had to confirm who they were before they were allowed to enter the castle.

Some of the townspeople had arrived early, eager to secure a good spot to see the newly-married royal couple. Despite the guards marching around in pairs and making their presence known, the excitement amongst the growing crowds was palpable.

Inside the castle, Anna was being made ready for her wedding. Her dressmaker was with her to make sure her wedding dress was absolutely perfect, and her hair and nails were endlessly fussed over by her ladies in waiting.

Elsa stood with her the whole time, very proud of her little sister.

“I hope the boys are okay,” Anna pondered. “Hopefully they didn’t party too much last night!”

As the wedding drew near, a wagon made its way to the castle. It was drawn by Sven, with Kristoff, Olaf, and Ryder on board, and they were late.

“Groom coming through!” Olaf shouted as the wagon hurtled towards the castle. A look of panic came across Sven’s face as he realised the gates were closed. Luckily the soldiers recognised the groom and opened up the gates just in time. After breathing a sigh of relief, everyone in the wagon hurried into the castle to get themselves ready.

Just before the wedding began, the invited guests calmly filed into the chapel. It was lavishly decorated with flowers and tapestries, and gold-trimmed flags adorned the walls. Two soldiers checked the guests off against a final list as they went through the chapel door. Everything was running like clockwork. 

Outside the castle, the whole town was waiting for the ceremony to finish so they could see their queen and her new husband. Merchants were wandering around the crowds selling souvenirs. It was the most significant event in Arendelle’s history since Queen Anna’s coronation.

Freya arrived in the town square to find it deserted except for a short, middle-aged man up a ladder attending to some bunting, hammering nails into a post. He was whistling a jolly tune while he set about his work.

“Hey! You! What’s all this?” Freya barked at him while pointing to the bunting. 

The man tutted to himself. “Aren’t you late for the wedding?” he asked without turning round. He went back to his hammering.

“Wedding? What wedding?” Freya demanded to know. 

The man sighed and turned to face Freya. He was struck by how elegant she looked, despite her bratty attitude. He started to make his way down the ladder.

“Let me guess,” the man said confidently. “You’re the daughter of an ambassador, you didn’t get a wedding invite, and you got bored and left your ship?” he concluded.

“Just tell me who is getting married,” Freya replied in frustration. 

“Oh, sure,” the man said. “Today is the wedding of our queen, Anna of Arendelle. She’s marrying the love of her life, a mountain man by the name of Kristoff. It’s a real rich-meets-poor fairy tale!” he enthused.

“Fascinating,” Freya said sarcastically while rolling her eyes. “This ‘Anna’,” she continued, “is she any relation to a woman called Elsa?”

“Oh, so I see you know some of our history!” the man said. “Yes, Elsa is Anna’s older sister,” he declared.

Freya narrowed her eyes and put her hand out. “Older sister?” she asked. “Then how come Anna is queen and Elsa isn’t?”

“Oh that’s a long story!” the man replied, scratching his head. “I don’t understand it myself.”

Freya sighed and folded her arms. “Just give me the gist of it,” she said in exasperation while looking at her nails.

“Well, m’lady,” the man said, starting to get a little nervous, “Elsa abdicated awhile ago so she could live up north. It’s something to do with the Northuldra, spirits, er, I don’t know…” the man said as he trailed off.

“So that’s where Elsa is now? At her sister's wedding?” Freya asked.

“It’s where everyone is!” the man quickly replied. “All the invited guests are in the castle, and all the townsfolk are waiting outside. It’s just muggins here who's been given a few odd jobs to do.”

Freya had heard enough. “Thank you,” she said mockingly. “You’ve been very helpful. But I think you might want to check that bunting over there,” she said while pointing. “It looks like it’s on fire to me.”

“What?” the man replied in shock as Freya fired a small fireball from her fingertips that set the bunting alight. The man rushed to put it out, but Freya used her powers to start more and more fires. She marched towards the castle, throwing fireballs into buildings as she went. She laughed to herself as building after building caught fire. She felt like a child in a sweet shop, setting fire to everything and anything she wanted to.

A menacing pride entered Freya as she watched everything around her burn. She laughed as she watched the man pitifully try and put out the fires. She stood in front of a toy shop. “That’s it, burn!” she said out loud as she fired a jet of flame inside it. She watched as the dolls and toys burned to cinders. “No toys for anyone today!” she said as the flames in her eyes burned bright.

As Freya made her way to the castle, she could see and hear throngs of people waiting outside the shut gates, eagerly and patiently waiting to catch a glimpse of the newly married royal couple. Guards were on patrol, looking wary. She knew there were too many people to get past, so she looked for another way in.

She walked around the castle walls until the excited noises from the crowd became very distant. She looked up, jumped, and turned herself into a fireball to propel herself on top of the ramparts. She hid behind a parapet, and looked down onto the courtyard below. There, she could see two soldiers standing guard at the front door of the chapel, holding their lances across each other to block the door. She could hear music, and she knew that all the guests must be inside.

Meanwhile, Kristoff and Ryder stood at the altar with the bishop. Kristoff was looking incredibly smart, his guard’s uniform impeccable and his hair neatly combed back. Ryder was in his traditional Northuldran dress. He felt overwhelmed by the occasion but he knew all he had to do at this point was stand still. To the side of the altar stood Sven, who had a box containing the rings dangling from his mouth.

The choir began to sing, and Anna walked into the chapel on Elsa’s arm. She looked incredible in her wedding dress, and there were gasps from the congregation. 

“Formidable!” the French ambassador whispered to his Irish counterpart.

“A rose, to be sure!” the Irish dignitary whispered in reply.

Anna’s train was held up by children from Arendelle who had put in a lot of practice for the big day. Behind them was Olaf, who had got a little carried away and was throwing confetti out of a basket. Elsa turned to him and mouthed “Not yet Olaf!” and he stopped, looking a little embarrassed. Anna and Elsa joined Kristoff at the altar, and the bishop began the ceremony.

Outside the chapel, Freya had moved to a part of the ramparts where the guards couldn’t see her. She jumped off, turned herself into a fireball, and landed safely on the ground. She then ran round the corner towards the guards, pretending that she was an invited guest who was running late.

“Wait for me!” Freya cried. 

The guards saw her and thrust their lances in her direction. “Halt!” they bellowed.

Freya stopped in front of them and pretended to be out of breath. “I’m sorry,” she said to them as she leaned forwards with her hand on her stomach, “I’ve been held up. Please let me in! I don’t want to miss Queen Anna’s wedding!”

The guards shouldered their lances and looked at each other, puzzled. After a couple of seconds, one of them looked at Freya. “Name?” he said officiously.

“How dare you talk to me like that!” Freya snapped at him. “I am the Queen of Rizucia, and I am not missing this wedding!”

The guard was insistent. “I’m sorry Your Majesty,” he said, keeping his official tone, “but we are under strict orders to only let in guests who are on the list. And everyone on the list has been accounted for.”

Freya shook her head. “No, no, no,” she insisted, trying to do her best impression of a queen. “You must have made a mistake. Let me see that list!”

One guard nodded to the other and handed Freya the list, which was a long piece of parchment. She pretended to skim over it. “Ah, there I am!” she exclaimed while pointing at one of the names.

She held the list up to one of the guards, who leaned in to get a closer look. “I don’t see your name anywhere,” he said while shaking his head. 

“It’s right _there_!” Freya said through gritted teeth. As she did so, she set the parchment on fire with her fingertip, then handed it back to the guard. He panicked and threw it on the floor. The other guard quickly held up his lance to her, and she immediately set both lances on fire. The guards cast them aside. Not knowing what was happening, the guards panicked. Freya held out her palms and made fire appear in each of them before holding them in front of the face of each of the guards.

“Now you two, go,” she commanded, “before I do to you what I just did to your lances!” The guards nodded and scurried off, leaving Freya alone in front of the door to the chapel. She put out the flames in her hands then looked up, smiled smugly, and snuck inside. 

Freya saw Elsa with the bride and groom at the altar. She waited for the perfect moment to make her move.

The choir were singing a traditional Arendellian wedding hymn while Anna and Kristoff waited at the altar looking into each other’s eyes, so happy that their big day had finally come. The hymn drew to a close, and the Bishop of Arendelle began the ceremony.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he began. “We are here today to join Kristoff Bjorgman and Queen Anna of Arendelle in marriage. On this joyous day, Arendelle welcomes royalty from all over the world to join us in celebration. Thank you all for being here with us.”

The bishop paused, and a satisfied murmur came from the congregation. “But first, as tradition dictates, I have a formality to attend to,” the bishop said with a slight smile. “If anyone knows any lawful reason why the bride and groom should not be married, let them speak now or forever hold their peace.”

The bishop left a slight pause. Anna and Kristoff continued to look at each lovingly.

“Yes!” came a cry from the back of the chapel. Everyone gasped in shock and turned to where the voice was coming from. Freya marched to the middle of the aisle. She was relishing being the centre of attention.

Anna turned to Elsa. “Elsa...is this…?” she said nervously.

“Yes,” Elsa replied, knowing what Anna was about to ask.

“How can you have a royal wedding without inviting Freya, the Fire Queen of Rizucia?” Freya asked everyone, holding her arms out to make a grand entrance.

“Who is this girl?” the Irish dignitary whispered to his French friend, who could only shrug his shoulders in reply.

The congregation sat and watched nervously. None of them knew who she was, but they were surprised by how such a young woman commanded an audience. A look of terror came over Anna’s face as she looked at Freya, scared by what she might do next.

“Freya, you are not ruining my sister’s wedding!” Elsa said under her breath as she started to walk towards her. Freya wagged her finger at Elsa, then turned into a fireball and jumped up into the rafters. The sight of this shocked the guests. Some got up, while others ran to the door.

“You can’t possibly get married today,” Freya scowled as she looked down and pointed at Anna. “You already have so much, it’s not right.”

Freya closed her eyes and paused for a second to compose herself. Then she started to chuckle.

“And besides, how can you get married in a chapel that’s on fire?” Freya asked gleefully.

“Freya, dont!” Elsa commanded while staring up at Freya.

Freya looked right back at Elsa, then bit her bottom lip as she smirked. She snapped her fingers on both of her hands and fireballs shot from them, setting fire to the tapestries on the walls.

There were screams from the congregation and the guests scrambled over each other, desperate to get out of the chapel. 

“Ah! Le feu!” the French ambassador screamed.

“Out of my way!” the Irish dignitary cried as he pushed past him.

Elsa used her powers to put out the burning tapestries, but Freya set fire to the beams in the rafters. She pointed a finger at Elsa. “You won’t get me this time!” she shouted as Elsa shot a beam of ice in Freya’s direction, trying to freeze her again. Freya jumped out of the way and turned herself into a fireball, flying around the chapel and setting fire to all she could before landing by the door.

“Catch me if you can!” Freya called to Elsa as she scuttled out. Elsa was struggling to extinguish the flames. Anna, Kristoff, Ryder and Olaf ran up to her.

“We need to find her!” Anna shouted.

“You need to get out of here, go! It’s not safe!” Elsa called out to Anna and everyone else.

“I don’t want to leave you!'' Anna replied. 

“I’m the only one who can stop Freya,” Elsa told her, “I need to find her before she does any more damage. Now go! Get to the courtyard!”

Kristoff took Anna and everyone else out of the chapel while Elsa desperately tried to find Freya. She looked up, and saw smoke from the town billowing over the walls of the castle. Screams could be heard from all around, as the fires Freya had started caused everyone to panic. Everyone was rushing towards the town, desperate to attend to their homes.

Just then, the wind spirit brought Elsa a note. It simply said “Freya has escaped”. Elsa threw it onto the ground in frustration, then began to search for Freya. She knew that she needed to stop her before it was too late.


	9. Arendelle Under Attack

“Fire!” shouted a man in the crowd outside the castle. All at once, the jovial atmosphere of the expectant crowd turned to panic as the people of Arendelle realised their kingdom was burning.

While everyone else rushed to attend to the fires in the town, Freya made her way into Arendelle castle itself. There, she found a handful of royal staff who were preparing for the wedding reception.

“I’m sorry young lady,” a footman said to Freya, “I’m afraid you can’t come in here until the wedding ceremony has concluded.”

“Haven’t you heard?” Freya replied, feigning panic. “The wedding is off! The town is on fire!”

“What?” the footman replied. Freya grabbed him by the lapel and beckoned him to the front door. She pointed at the plumes of smoke billowing from the town. The footman could hear the panicked calls from the people outside the castle.

“The town is ablaze!” the footman shouted. “We must go!” The rest of the staff gathered at the door, then ran out towards the town, leaving Freya in the castle on her own. 

She walked to the portrait gallery and stood in front of all the wedding presents. Curious, she picked up a blue box that was wrapped in a silver bow, and held it against her ear. She rattled it, then opened it and took out a stunning diamond necklace. She stared at it in fascination for a few seconds before putting it down and opening more boxes. The opulence and beauty of each of the gifts made her jealous. She threw them to the floor then cast a circle of fire around them, leaving them all to burn.

Freya walked into the dining room and saw that it was laid out for the wedding reception. Hundreds of plates were lined up, full of delicately prepared canapes. A five-tier wedding cake stood proudly in the middle of the room. Freya picked up a canape, sniffed it, then ate it. She opened her eyes wide as she savoured the taste. She nodded to herself in satisfaction, then tried a few more. “These are too good!” she thought to herself. “Too good for anyone else!” she decided as she sent jets of flame over the tables, burning all the food to a crisp.

While the rest of the room was on fire, Freya walked over to the wedding cake. She had to look upwards to see the top of it given how tall it was, and she saw little figures of Anna and Kristoff, crafted out of marzipan. She clambered up onto the table and picked up the bride and groom.

“Aren’t you two cute!” she said to herself. “You don’t know how lucky you are to have each other,” she said as she shook her head.

After placing the figures to one side, Freya stuck a finger in the cake and had a taste of it. “Mmm, delicious!” she thought to herself. “Such a shame to let it go to waste. Oh well!” With that, she cast her fire over the table, ruining the cake.

Freya made her way through the rest of the castle. The ballroom, the kitchen, the library, nothing was safe from her flames. She went up the grand staircase, and started throwing fireballs into the bedrooms. The fireballs exploded, shattering the windows and sending debris flying out through the doors. She stopped when she came across two paintings.

The first showed the Arendellian royal family when Elsa was around seven years old. It depicted Elsa and Anna’s parents, King Agnarr and Queen Iduna together. Anna and Elsa stood at their feet. It made Freya pause for a second. She stared at it intently. She’d never seen family unity like it. The scene brought a tear to her eye.

Then she looked at the second painting, and it was much more familiar to her. She recognised Anna and Elsa, as well as Kristoff and Sven, who she’d seen at the altar. As she took in the love and affection shown in the painting she breathed deeply, her bottom lip wobbled, and tears rolled down her cheeks. She looked down at her hands, and saw that her fingers were taught and that fires were building up in her palms. She gritted her teeth, stared at the paintings, then lifted her hands above her head and screamed. As she threw her arms forwards, tremendous jets of flame shot from her hands, annihilating the paintings. She overbalanced and fell forwards onto her knees, then propped herself up with her arms in exhaustion. She closed her eyes as her tears dropped onto the floor. As the flames built up around her, she curled up into a ball and sobbed. She then looked up, and saw the fires consuming the castle. After shooting to her feet she dried her tears, then ran back down the stairs.

As Arendelle burned, the foreign wedding guests ran back to the harbour and boarded their ships. 

“Zut alors! Tout est en feu!” the French ambassador cried as he ran onto his ship. “Allez maintenant!”

“Weigh anchor! Set sail!” the Irish dignitary shouted as he hastily boarded his vessel. They all left as quickly as they could.

With the castle ablaze, Freya went back to the town to revel in the panic as everyone tried to put out the fires. She saw a man with a full bucket of water run towards his house. She turned herself into a fireball, flew to the front of the house and emerged laying on the street next to it, propping her head up with her arm.

“Oh I wouldn’t bother putting out that fire, I’ll just start a new one,” she casually said to the man, who looked terrified. The man threw the water on the fire, and Freya leaned over and shot another fireball into the house. “See?” she said gleefully, laughing to herself.

She continued to walk along the streets, throwing the odd fireball into empty houses while everyone around her was desperately scrambling to put out the fires. She laughed out loud as she witnessed the carnage. The fire in her eyes burned brightly and flames shot from her hair like sparks.

A man marched up to her and pointed his finger in her face. “It’s you!” he shouted. “You’re the one who set fire to our town!”

Freya stared at him and opened her palm, creating a fireball in it. She held it up to him and smirked. He started to back away.

“Yes, I set fire to Arendelle,” she declared. “And just what are you going to do about it?” she asked.

The man looked terrified, shook his head and ran away. Freya held the fire up to anyone else who happened to be close by, causing everyone to back away from her. 

Amongst the bedlam was Olaf, who was running around with a bucket of water.

“Which house needs this water most?” he called out. “That one? Or this one? Or this one here?” he cried as he kept changing direction. Eventually he tripped up over his own feet. The water went flying forwards and landed right on Freya, who screamed as it covered her. She was soaked from head to toe.

“Why you clumsy, little...what even are you?” Freya said furiously as she picked Olaf up by his head, unwittingly detaching it from his body.

“Hi, I’m Olaf, and I like warm hugs,” Olaf replied casually, “although, not quite as warm as yours,” he quipped.

The townspeople noticed that something was different about Freya. She was drenched in water, and she appeared duller than before. There were no flames in her eyes, and no fire came from her hands, feet, or hair.

“She’s lost her powers!” someone shouted.

“Get her!” came a call from a soldier.

Freya threw Olaf’s head at the soldier then turned and tried to run. She knew that if she could just get dry, she’d get her powers back. A townsperson jumped on her and tried to hold her down on the floor, but she bit his hand and he released her. The soldier caught up, grabbed her and held her hands behind her back.

“Quick, throw more water on her!” the soldier called. Another man threw a bucket of water over Freya’s head, causing her to scream. 

Word got round that Freya had been caught in the town. Elsa got news of this and went to find her, putting out fires with her powers as she went. More soldiers, including General Mattias, had reached Freya and were keeping her restrained, occasionally dumping buckets of water on her to stop her powers returning.

Elsa saw Freya and walked up to her, relieved that she was powerless and being held. 

“Yes, well done, you’ve worked out my weakness,” Freya shouted sarcastically. “I have fire powers and I’m vulnerable to water. How long did it take you to figure that out, genius?”

Elsa sighed in frustrated relief, but she knew that as Freya was no longer free, she could deal with the fires properly. Elsa held up her arms and a huge cloud appeared over Arendelle. From it came a blizzard of sleet and snow. It soon enveloped the castle and the whole town. The temperature plummeted and people folded their arms and chattered their teeth. Within a matter of seconds, all the fires were out. As quickly as it had appeared, the cloud vanished, leaving the brief impression of a snowflake in the sky, before the weather returned to the warmth of a glorious summer’s day.

Freya looked up in amazement. She already knew that Elsa was stronger than she was, but this was something else. Freya knew that Elsa must have a secret to her power. She was convinced that Elsa couldn’t have become that strong on her own.

“Now,” said Elsa sternly, looking Freya in the eyes, “what do you have to say for yourself?”

“I taught you all a lesson,” Freya said through gritted teeth while looking up at Elsa. “Now the whole world knows what the Fire Queen can do!”

General Mattias made a suggestion. “We can take her to the castle. We have cells there that are made of stone, she can’t burn through that.”

Elsa agreed. “Just make sure you’ve got plenty of water,” she added. With that, the soldiers dragged Freya away, kicking and screaming.

A townsperson saw Freya being taken away, and threw a bucket of water over her, causing her to scream again.

“That’s for ruining everything!” the townsperson yelled.

“Hey, get back!” Mattias shouted at him. “We’re taking care of this!” he yelled as Freya was taken to the castle.


	10. A Castle Tour

Back at the castle and still in their wedding finery, Anna and Kristoff were surveying the damage. They walked into the portrait gallery, the room where Anna had spent a lot of time playing on her own during her lonely childhood. For many years, the people depicted in the paintings were the closest things she had to friends. As she looked around to see some paintings singed and others destroyed, she felt distraught. It was if her very childhood had been attacked. She looked down to see what remained of the wedding presents. She tried to pick one of them up, but it disintegrated in her hands.

“What a waste,” she whispered to Kristoff.

A solitary member of the royal staff was doing her best to clean up. The sound of her sweeping echoed through the gallery as Anna and Kristoff walked towards the dining room. When Anna saw all the food destroyed and her wedding cake in ruins, Anna felt her bottom lip wobble. Her dreams of a fairytale wedding had been crushed.

“Why?” she asked, turning to Kristoff. “All I wanted was a perfect wedding day. For us, for the kingdom, for everyone. Why would anybody do this?” All Kristoff could do was hold her.

They made their way upstairs to witness more of the devastation. With a sense of trepidation, they walked to the part of the hall where the family portraits hung. They saw that they were no more, they had been totally obliterated.

“I loved those paintings,” Anna said as she cried into Kristoff’s chest. “Just yesterday Elsa was telling me about how we’d paint a new one together.” Kristoff held Anna as she wept.

They walked around a little more, and did at least find some clothes that had survived the fires. They got changed then made their way back downstairs.

Meanwhile, Elsa had walked from the town to the castle. She had seen first hand the destruction that Freya had caused in the town, and now she could see the scars that the castle bore. She always tried to hide her emotions, but when she thought that no one was watching, she walked around a corner and held her head in her hands. She couldn’t help but blame herself.

Elsa, Anna, Kristoff and General Mattias met in the courtyard of the castle. Anna was livid.

“Just look at our home, Elsa!” she cried. “The ballroom, the library, the bedrooms...I don’t think there’s a room in the castle that Freya hasn’t touched! Even the family portraits are gone! And she ruined our wedding. The guests have all left, she embarrassed us in front of the whole world. I dread to think what it’s like in the town!” Anna sobbed. “You said she was nothing to worry about!”

“I’m sorry,” Elsa said solemnly, looking at the floor, “I thought I’d done enough to keep her trapped in Northuldra. I really didn’t want you to cancel your wedding Anna. I’m so sorry she destroyed everything.”

“Well there’s one thing she didn’t destroy,” Kristoff said to Anna. 

“What’s that?” Anna asked. 

“My love for you,” Kristoff declared.

Usually Anna would laugh at such a corny line, but in her devastation she was glad to hear it. She smiled a little and fell into Kristoff’s arms.

General Mattias was apologetic. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” he said while looking downwards. “I failed you. I did all I could to stop her getting into the chapel. Everyone was on patrol. I even put my two best men on the chapel door. I will have to discipline them!”

Elsa tried to reassure him. “No, you did the best you could,” she said as she placed her hand on his arm. “We all saw what Freya was capable of. No soldier could have stopped her.”

“Your Highness,” General Mattias said, referring to Elsa, “you know more about magic than anyone else here. What do we do with her?” he asked as he held out his arms.

Anna spoke up. “We can’t let her out,” she declared, “she’s already caused so much damage, if we let her out she’ll just cause more.”

Mattias nodded in agreement. “As far as I’m concerned we should lock her up and throw away the key. Imprisonment is what she deserves,” he said boldly. “It’s a miracle that no one was hurt.”

“No, it isn’t,” Elsa corrected him. 

“What do you mean, Your Highness?” Mattias asked, puzzled. 

“Freya has power over fire,” Elsa replied. “If she wanted to hurt someone then she would have done so by now. But think about it. She set fire to the forest of Northuldra when she was on her own. She attacked the town when everyone was at the castle, and she set fire to the castle when everyone was back in town. She’s trying not to harm people.”

There was an awkward pause while everyone tried to come to terms with what Elsa had said.

“Well, what do you think we should do, Elsa?” Anna asked. Elsa was standing there with her arms folded, looking pensive. She sighed.

“We need to work out why she’s here, and why she has her powers. Look, you’re not going to like this, but she needs help,” said Elsa. 

“What?” everyone else exclaimed in unison.

“Help?” Anna replied angrily, raising her voice. “Elsa! She attacked our kingdom! She ruined our wedding! How can you say she needs help?”

“She’s just sixteen. She’s a child,” Elsa insisted. “Her parents locked her up in a tower. She doesn’t know where her powers come from. I’ve seen fear in her eyes. She’s scared.”

“Wait,” said Anna as she held up her hands and shook her head, trying to process everything, “you think that she’s scared? That she’s the victim here? Elsa! She’s left our kingdom in ruins!”

“I know, I know, it’s just that…” Elsa said before she sighed and looked away. “I could have so easily ended up like her.” Elsa looked wistfully forwards as she remembered herself at Freya’s age.

“When you’re kept away from everyone, when you’re shut out because of something you can’t control, you always ask yourself ‘Why?’. What did I do to deserve this? Why is the world so cruel? Freya is lashing out in the only way she knows how. And I could have done that too,” Elsa said as she turned to Anna. “That’s why she needs help.”

Anna thought about what Elsa had said. She remembered their childhood, and how Elsa was kept away from everyone for most of her childhood years. She calmed down as she began to understand Elsa’s point. “But how can we help her?” she asked.

“I need to think carefully about that,” Elsa replied. “We need to hold her for now. Tomorrow I will have a plan.”

“Okay,” Anna agreed, slowly nodding. “General Mattias, keep Freya under guard round the clock, we can’t risk her escaping,” Anna commanded. “We will meet again tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Mattias replied, as he went to check on their prisoner.


	11. The Prison

“Ah!” Freya screamed as yet another bucket of water was thrown onto her through the bars of the cast iron door of her dingy stone cell. 

“Pipe down in there!” her guard commanded. “I’ve told you before. Keep quiet, don’t try any of that fire magic business, and I won’t throw water on you!”

“You’ll have to let me out sooner or later!” Freya called.

“That’s not my problem,” the guard called back. “You just sit tight and wait to see what they do with you.”

Just then, General Mattias walked in.

“Good work,” he told the guard. “I can see that you’re keeping her under control!”

“Thank you General Mattias!” the guard replied, still holding onto his bucket.

Freya lurched forwards and grabbed the bars of the cell door. Still dripping wet, she hauled her head as far forwards as it would go.

“General Mattias? Is that your name?” Freya asked.

Mattias tried to ignore Freya by rolling his eyes, sighing and turning to the guard. He was about to speak when Freya continued talking.

“You couldn’t stop me burning Arendelle and ruining your queen’s wedding though, could you?” Freya said through gritted teeth. “What’s your first name, General? Incompetence?” she said as she raised her eyebrows.

Freya started to laugh at her own joke while the guard responded by grabbing another bucket of water and throwing it over her, causing her to scream again. She wiped the water from her eyes and went back to laughing.

“How dare you talk to the general like that!” the guard shouted.

Mattias placed a calm hand on the bucket and lowered it.

“I can fight my own battles, thank you,” he said cooly as he gave a sideways glance to the guard. He took a step towards Freya.

“As it happens, I have some news for you,” Mattias said to Freya.

Freya stopped laughing and looked up at Mattias. She was all ears.

Mattias cleared his throat. “The queen has decided that you will be dealt with tomorrow morning. Until then, you will remain here,” he declared to her, keeping his rigid upright posture.

Freya lifted one hand and opened her palm. “That’s it? That’s all you’ve got to tell me?” she said to him through a sneer.

Mattias turned his back to her and gestured to the guard to follow him away from Freya’s cell.

“Hey! Where are you going? Come back!” Freya yelled. She hit one of the bars with her palm in exasperation.

“Good job so far,” Mattias whispered to the guard. “Don’t spare the water. We don’t have to hold her for much longer.” With that, Mattias saluted to the guard and made his way out.

“Sir,” the guard said as he saluted back. He marched back to the cell.

“Right, you heard what the general said,” the guard barked at her. “You’re not going anywhere tonight. Count yourself lucky. If it were up to me I’d throw away this key!” he said while holding the key up in front of her. Freya reached for it, but the guard snatched it away. “Now sit down!” he commanded as he pointed to the floor.

Freya sat down on the cold floor, folded her arms and huffed. The guard had been on duty for several hours now and she wasn’t getting anywhere with him. She decided to just sit quietly.

A couple of hours later, her dinner arrived. “What’s this?” she said, looking up in disgust at the guard who brought it. “Bread and cheese? You’re giving a queen bread and cheese?” she snarled.

“You set fire to the castle kitchen, you’re lucky there’s anything to eat at all,” the guard replied. He got up and scurried away, not wanting to be near Freya and her fiery magic.

Freya sighed to herself, then put some cheese on a piece of bread. She held her palm over it and used her powers to make herself cheese on toast. She nibbled away at it until it was all gone.

At midnight, the guard was relieved of his duties by a young soldier. “There she is,” said the older guard, pointing at her through the door. “There’s the woman who burned down our kingdom.”

Freya looked up and gave the guards a menacing smile.

“She’s been quiet for awhile, but if she acts up, don’t hesitate to throw a bucket of water on her. Don’t stand directly in front of the door for too long, and do _not_ talk to her. You got that?” the older guard commanded, pointing his finger at the younger soldier.

“Yes sir,” the young soldier said clearly. 

“Good lad,” replied the older guard. “Now, here’s the keys, there’s the chair. Any problems, call for help from the guard on the prison door. Oh, one last thing, don’t fall asleep! I’ll see you later.”

The older guard gave the young soldier a pat on the back as he left. The young soldier put the keys on his belt and sat down on the chair, facing away from Freya’s cell. He tensed up his shoulders and stared forwards, away from Freya.

After the older guard had left, Freya wondered if she could make an impression on this young, new soldier. “Hi!” she said almost sarcastically, not expecting a response. “So you got the late shift, huh? Drew the short straw did you?” 

Freya laughed a little as the guard stayed quiet, he just sat there twiddling his thumbs and muttering to himself. After a couple of minutes, Freya tried again.“Oh come on!” she insisted. “I’m so bored in here, talk to me!”

“Look, I’ve been told not to,” the guard shouted in frustration. “Just...keep quiet, okay? Try and go to sleep.”

“But I’m so bored!” Freya cried out, rolling around on the floor. “Talk to me, please!”

The young guard was getting more and more anxious. After a short while, his anxiety got the better of him. “Okay, you want to talk?” he barked. “Tell me this then. Why did you do it?”

Freya got off the floor and stood up. She was surprised she got his attention so easily. “Why did I do what?” she asked as she walked towards the door.

“Why did you set our town on fire? My mother lost everything. All her furniture, all her possessions, all gone up in smoke. Why?” he fumed.

Freya paused then sighed. “Your mother doesn’t know how lucky she is,” she replied, shaking her head and looking at the floor.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the guard snapped back, still anxious.

Freya continued to look at the floor. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?” she asked him.

“Well, yes, I’ve got two younger brothers,” the guard blurted out.

“And did they survive the fire?” she quietly asked.

“Yes…” the guard replied through an exasperated sigh.

“Then your mother didn’t lose everything, did she?” Freya hissed.

The guard paused to think about what Freya had just said.

Freya looked back down at the ground and sighed. “I can tell you care about your mother. It must be wonderful to have a mother who loves you. My parents locked me up in a tower. They don’t love me. I grew up alone. I never knew what it was like to be happy as a child,” she said before looking around at the bare stone walls. “This cell feels like home.”

The guard was taken by surprise by Freya’s words. He blinked rapidly and untensed his body. “Oh,” he said, beginning to feel sorry for her. “Well, I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s alright,” Freya said as she looked down at her shoes. “Tell me, were you happy when you were a child? What’s your happiest memory?”

The guard looked up and thought for a second. He knew he wasn’t supposed to talk to Freya, but he pitied her and he couldn’t help himself. ”I think it would have to be my eighth birthday party. I got a toy that I really wanted, all my friends came over, and we had a huge cake. Yes, that was a great day!”

“What’s a birthday party?” Freya asked. 

“You mean you don’t know?” the guard replied, shocked. “My word, you did have a tough upbringing! Your birthday is the day you were born on. And on that day, all your friends and family come over and you have a fun time. That’s a party!”

“Oh. Sounds wonderful,” Freya said, sounding upset. 

The guard was feeling genuinely sorry for her now. “Hey, don’t cry,” he said as he tried to reassure her.

“It’s just that there’s so many things I’ve never done,” Freya said as she slumped back down on the floor and held her head in her hands. “I’ve never had a birthday party, I’ve never even had friends,” she said before tucking her head into her knees.

The guard thought that he could hear her sobbing, and he wanted to make her feel better. 

“What else have I missed?” Freya asked forlornly.

Freya and the guard talked for about an hour. He told her all about the things she had missed from her childhood, from winter holiday seasons to summer solstices and all of the fun things that the children of Arendelle got up to. Freya listened attentively. Slowly, she gained his trust.

“What’s your name?” she asked him. 

“You know I’m not supposed to tell you that!” he replied, laughing. 

“Oh come on,” Freya replied. “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours! My name is Freya,” she said playfully.

The guard laughed again, not thinking he had much choice. “My name’s Henrik,” he said through a smile.

“Well Henrik, would you like to talk to me properly?” Freya asked. “It’s silly to keep talking through the wall!”

“Well, okay,” said Henrik, getting up off his chair. “But on one condition.”

“What’s that?” Freya asked. 

“I get to throw a bucket of water on you first. I don’t want you using your magic on me!” Henrik replied.

Freya silently cursed to herself. This young guard was cleverer than she thought!

“Well, alright. Just let me stand in front of the door,” Freya said. 

Henrik went to get a bucket of water. “Ready?” he called. 

“I’m ready!” Freya replied, as she braced herself.

Henrik emerged in front of the door and threw the water into Freya’s cell, soaking her from head to toe. She screamed at first, then looked up at Henrik and smiled.

“Are you okay?” Henrik asked. “That sounded like it hurt…”

“It’s alright,” Freya said as she wiped the water from her eyes. “It hurts a little at first, but it soon passes. It’s worth it to talk to you! Well, here I am, what do you think of me now?” she asked, holding her arms out.

Henrik didn’t know what to say. Even though she was drenched, he found her very attractive. “You’re...you’re very pretty,” he stuttered.

“Aw, no one has ever called me pretty before!” Freya said while clasping her hands together and resting her cheek on them. “You’re so kind, Henrik!” she cooed while looking at him with puppy dog eyes. “And you’re very handsome!”

Henrik looked down and smiled, embarrassed. “You think so?” he gently replied. 

“Yes!” Freya enthused. “And I bet you’ve got beautiful eyes. I’ve never looked into a boy's eyes before. Can I see them?” Freya asked while running her fingers through her hair.

“Well, okay,” Henrik said as he walked right up to the door of the cell. Freya did the same, and soon they were face to face. Freya looked deep into Henrik’s eyes and smiled.

“They are so beautiful,” she said softly. “What about mine? I bet you’ve never seen greener eyes!” she enthused as she opened her eyes wide and smiled.

Henrik was mesmerised. “They’re like emeralds,” he said nervously. “You really are beautiful.”

“Do you know what else I’ve never done?” she asked him. “I’ve never been kissed.”

Freya closed her eyes. Henrik closed his, and moved closer to her.

She opened her eyes and gently shook her head at him. “Too easy,” she whispered to herself as she raised her hand and made a fist. While Henrik still had his eyes closed, Freya punched him in the face as hard as she could, knocking him out. She bent down, took the keys from him, and opened the cell door. She walked out, and stood over Henrik’s unconscious body.

“Pathetic,” she whispered, looking down on him. Freya made her way out of her cell. As she tiptoed towards the entrance to the prison, she could hear snoring. At the door, she found a guard napping, and she gently shuffled past him. 

Once out of the castle prison, Freya could hear footsteps. She quickly hid behind a fountain and crouched down. Two guards were on patrol, armed with lances. She listened in to their conversation as they walked past.

“What’s the latest on our prisoner?” one guard asked the other in a gruff, deep voice.

“I heard that the queen is going to ‘deal with her’. I know what I’d like that to mean!” the other guard replied. His pal started to chuckle.

“Yeah!” he exclaimed. “Have we still got those gallows?” he asked.

“Gallows are no good,” the other guard replied, shaking his head. “She’ll burn her way out. They should put her in front of me, I’ll stick her myself!” he said as he thrust his lance forward. Freya winced.

“And I’ll finish her off!” the other guard declared as he stabbed the air and twisted his lance. The two men laughed heartily, slapped each other on the back and continued with their patrol.

Freya narrowed her eyes and scowled towards the soldiers as they went past. Now she knew what the people of Arendelle really thought about her! When the time was right, she snuck out of the castle, unseen by the guards. As gingerly as she could, she walked through the charred town, and made her way back up north.

When Freya reached the outskirts of Arendelle, the sun started to rise. She turned round to get a good look at the town she had devastated just hours ago. Seeing the charred buildings gave her a sense of smug satisfaction. She turned back and continued to walk north.

Freya knew that she couldn’t compete with Elsa’s powers, but she was determined to find the source of them. She thought she might find the answers with the Northuldra. After all, without Elsa there to protect them, she knew that she could do as she pleased.

As soon as she thought she had walked far away enough from the town, Freya turned herself into a fireball and made her way north, hugging the coast as she did. She stopped a few times to catch her breath, but on her last break, something caught her eye.

Freya looked up, and she could see a tattered Arendellian flag fluttering in the breeze, poking up over a sand dune. Curious, she went to investigate. She walked around the dune, and saw that the flag was flying from a wrecked ship. She thought that was unusual, and she went on board.

On the ship, Freya held out her palm and created a fire in it. Using the fire as a torch, she looked around and quickly found a map sitting on a desk. She looked at it, and could see that it was a map of where she was. She recognised Arendelle and the forests of Northuldra, but she was intrigued by a river to the north that had been drawn on the map by hand.

“Ah-to-hallan…” she said to herself while pointing at it. “I wonder, could that be the source of Elsa’s power?” 

Freya spent some time searching the ship to see if she could find out anything else about Ahtohallan, but she found nothing. She wanted to know more, and she thought the Northuldra could tell her. She made her way out and began to walk away.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” she said to herself as she turned back. 

She raised her hands and launched a jet of fire, setting the ship ablaze. She looked up at the Arendellian flag fluttering in the breeze as the fire burned beneath it. She pointed her finger at the flag like a sharpshooter, and shot a small fireball at it. 

She laughed at the burning wreck as the fire in her eyes shone brightly. She stood and watched the ship burn, then turned and made her way to search for the Northuldra.


	12. A Realisation

It was morning in Arendelle castle and Anna, Kristoff and Elsa were sitting in the charred remains of the dining room, having spent a rough night in makeshift beds. The kitchen staff had done their best to provide them with some breakfast.

“What a mess,” Anna said while shaking her head. She closed her eyes, held out her arms and exhaled. “Okay, got to be strong, got to do the next right thing.”

Kristoff held Anna’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Thank you honey,” Anna whispered to him. She took a second to compose herself.

“Elsa, have you thought about what we’re going to do with Freya? I want her dealt with today, and I’d be happy to keep her locked up. Is it really possible for us to...help her?” Anna asked.

Elsa looked at Anna and smiled a little. “Ahtohallan knows,” she said softly.

“What do you mean?” replied Anna.

“Do you remember the parchment we found on mother and father’s ship? The one that was in a language that none of us knew?” Elsa asked. 

“Yes,” Anna replied.

“It was written in Old Northuldra. Yelena has been helping me to translate it. It talks about Ahtohallan,” said Elsa.

Anna was intrigued. She was fascinated to hear more about the documents they had discovered, and more about Ahtohallan, the magical river of ice where Elsa discovered she was the fifth spirit of nature.

“Ahtohallan has more secrets than we ever imagined. It’s a huge labyrinth of rooms, corridors and chambers. Some wondrous, some...not so. There is one that could help Freya. The document calls it the Chamber of Emptiness,” Elsa said, looking up at Anna.

“Sounds scary!” said Anna. “How could it help us?”

“It’s a dark place,” Elsa replied, “a part of Ahtohallan where no magic can exist. If we can persuade Freya to enter it, she’d lose her powers.”

“Wait, do you even know where it is?” Anna asked. 

“Yes,” replied Elsa, “I’ve been to Ahtohallan several times over these past few months, trying to learn more about its secrets. That’s why I haven’t been able to visit Arendelle.”

“And do you know much about this ‘Chamber of Emptiness’?” Anna asked.

Elsa sighed and looked forlorn. “Yes,” she said. “I do.”

“Oh my,” Ana exclaimed, leaning forwards and placing her hand on Elsa’s. “You didn’t think about going in it, did you?”

Elsa realised what Anna feared and she wanted to put her at ease. She looked up, smiled and shook her head. “Oh no!” she declared. “Not now. I know my powers are a gift, I know I am the fifth spirit. I don’t even know what would happen to me if I went into it. I was there a few weeks ago. I fired a beam of ice into the chamber, and the beam vanished. It didn’t make a sound, it just...ceased to be. I didn’t dare get any closer to it after that,” Elsa told Anna.

“So, why do you think it will be okay for Freya to enter it?” Anna asked.

“There’s something different about Freya’s power. It isn’t like mine, it doesn’t come from the spirits. It seems somehow...wicked,” Elsa mused.

“You’ve got that right!” said Anna, nodding. “But why do you think you can convince her to enter it?” she asked.

“When I was Freya’s age,” Elsa replied, “I would have gone into the Chamber of Emptiness without thinking about it. I would have done anything to be normal. That’s why I think I can persuade her to go in.”

“Wait, wait, wait…” Anna said as she closed her eyes and held up her hands. “That’s your plan? Persuade her to go to Ahtohallan with you? But what if you can’t convince her? What if she attacks you on the way there? What if she tricks you and you enter the chamber and she doesn’t? You’re the only one who can stop her Elsa!” Anna said, exasperated. “We’ve already lost so much, I don’t want to lose you too!”

“It will be okay,” Elsa replied as she put her hand on Anna’s arm. “We will figure it out. I’ll go and talk to her–”

Elsa was interrupted by the sound of the door being flung open. General Mattias was standing there, exhausted. He took a second to get his breath back.

“Your Majesty,” said Mattias, bent over. “It’s Freya. She’s escaped.”

“What?” shouted Anna as they all got up from the table and went to Mattias. “When? How?” she asked frantically.

“In the middle of the night,” Mattias said solemnly. “The soldier who came to relieve the night guard found her cell open, and the guard flat out on the floor. She must be long gone.”

“Well, find her!” Anna commanded. 

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Mattias nodded. “I’ll make sure that every soldier in Arendelle is looking for her,” he said as he turned towards the hallway.

“Now what do we do?” Anna said to Elsa with a look of panic in her eyes.

Elsa sighed and thought for a second. “She could be anywhere,” Elsa concluded. “She might have gone back to Northuldra, she might be hiding somewhere in Arendelle, or she might have even left on a boat, looking for a new kingdom to burn.”

“I’ll check the docks,” Kristoff declared.

“Oh, be careful honey,” Anna replied, her voice fraught with worry.

“I will,” Kristoff said reassuringly. He gave Anna a kiss as he left the room.

“I should go north,” said Elsa. “Right now the Northuldra have no one to protect them. They need me.”

“But what if that’s what Freya wants you to do?” said Anna, still worried. “What if she’s hiding in Arendelle somewhere and she’s waiting for you to leave? Without you, Arendelle is defenseless!”

“Arendelle will be fine!” Elsa insisted. “We all know her weakness. As long as someone can throw water on her, she won’t be a danger.”

“Oh Elsa, it’s not that simple!” Anna said as she threw her arms in the air. “Last time we got lucky. If she attacks again she’ll just keep out of the way of water!”

Elsa sighed again. “You’re right, Anna. For now, I’ll stay here and help search for Freya.”

“Okay,” Anna replied, calming down a little. “Let’s go.”


	13. An Interrogation

Far north of Arendelle, Freya was making her way up the coast. After spending hours searching for the Northuldra, she finally found their camp. She marched up to them with her fists clenched.

“It’s her! Run!” a Northuldra man shouted. 

There were screams, parents grabbed their children, and the Northuldra ran away from their camp. However, Freya only had eyes for one of them.

“You! Old hag! Stop!” Freya commanded as she raised her hand. A wall of fire appeared in front of Yelena, stopping her in her tracks. She turned to run the other way, but Freya made the fire surround her. She was trapped.

“What do you want with me?” Yelena asked Freya while narrowing her eyes.

“Information,” Freya replied while smirking and breathing heavily, tired from tracking the Northuldra down. “What do you know about Ahtohallan?”

Yelena gulped and her eyes widened. “Ahtohallan is a magical river far north from here,” she replied.

“What’s so magical about it?” Freya scowled.

“It knows all,” Yelena replied. “It contains all memories and the answers to the past.”

Freya shook her head in confusion. “Memories? What memories? What are you talking about?” she asked.

“You will never understand,” Yelena replied defiantly. “Only Elsa has the power to confront the memories in Ahtohallan. You have so much anger. You cannot face what the river knows!”

Freya rolled her eyes as she became frustrated by Yelena’s answers. She tried a different line of questioning.

“But Elsa has been there?” she snarled at Yelena.

“Yes,” Yelena replied, still trying to say as little as possible while the circle of fire burned around her.

“Has anyone else been there?” Freya asked.

Yelena shook her head. “No. Only Elsa can go there.”

Freya had heard enough to reach a conclusion. “How do I get there?” she demanded to know.

“You can’t!” Yelena boomed back. “It is protected by the spirits of nature. Elsa is the fifth spirit, only she can cross the Dark Sea to reach it. No one else can make it past.”

“I’ll be the judge of that!” Freya shouted as she raised her arms and made the flames around Yelena higher. She pointed her finger right in Yelena’s face. “You tell me how I get there, or I will turn your sad little camp into cinders!”

Yelena relented. “You go as far north as you can, until you reach the coast. Then you must cross the Dark Sea. But beware, the spirits will stop you!” she warned.

Freya had the information she wanted. She extinguished the flames around Yelena.

“Thank you,” Freya said insincerely. “Now I won’t burn down your camp. Well, maybe a tent or two!”

Freya winked at Yelena then turned and started to walk north. She threw streams of fire at a couple of tents, causing them to be set ablaze. She then turned herself into a fireball and blazed away, heading towards the Dark Sea.

With Freya gone, the rest of the Northuldra emerged from the forest. They quickly got some buckets of water to extinguish the fires she had started.

Yelena snapped into action. “Get me a quill and some parchment!” she commanded. “We have to warn Elsa!”

The Northuldra scrambled through their supplies and soon found what they needed to write a note. Yelena summoned the wind spirit and the note was on its way to Elsa in Arendelle.

Freya made her way to the shore of the Dark Sea. She could see the waters raging in front of her, and she thought about how she was going to get across. After a while, an idea came into her head. Freya ran towards the sea as fast as she could, then jumped up and turned herself into a fireball, flying over the waves.

As she flew, she could see an island covered by a huge glacier. She knew she was nearly there, and all she needed to do was maintain the fireball for long enough.

Without warning, the Water Nokk jumped out of the Dark Sea, clattered into Freya, and sent her flying out of her fireball. She landed face first in the sea with an enormous splash. She quickly put her head above the water, drew breath, and screamed. Before she could realise what was happening, the Nokk flung her into the air again.

Meanwhile back in Arendelle, everyone was focused on looking for Freya, not knowing that she had gone north. The wind spirit brought the note from the Northuldra to Elsa. She grabbed it, then opened it and read it as quickly as she could.

Elsa’s eyes opened wide as she moved her head backwards. “Freya has gone to Ahtohallan,” Elsa read out loud to Anna. “I have to go there now!” she declared as she started to briskly walk towards the shore.

“Wait, isn’t that too dangerous?” Anna asked, worriedly following her.

“If Freya gets to Ahtohallan then there’s no telling what could happen,” Elsa explained. “She could find the secret to her powers. That could mean anything. It may make her stronger, it might even destroy her. And that’s if she crosses the Dark Sea. I have to stop her.”

“Well, I guess I can’t stop you going,” Anna said sadly from experience.

Back in the Dark Sea, Freya was being helplessly thrown around by the Water Nokk. While she was underwater she could see its glowing blue eyes in the distance. As it galloped towards her, she could do nothing as it jumped on her and put its front hooves on her stomach. It kicked its hind legs and pushed Freya further and further down into the dark water. She was running out of breath.

Meanwhile in Arendelle, Elsa was preparing to head to Ahtohallan.

“Be careful, Elsa,” Anna said gently, “I don’t want to lose you.”

Anna and Elsa embraced, then Elsa walked towards the shore. She summoned the Water Nokk.

Back in the Dark Sea, the Water Nokk stopped paying attention to Freya, looked upwards, then disappeared. Freya swam to the surface as quickly as she could and took a huge, deep breath. She didn’t know what had just happened, but she knew that the Water Nokk was gone and that Ahtohallan was in her sights. As she gritted her teeth through the pain of being in the water, she swam the rest of the way there.

When Freya finally reached the coast of Ahtohallan, she was barely able to move. She clawed her way up the shingle beach, then rolled over and lay on her back with her arms outstretched, exhausted. Closing her eyes, she inhaled and exhaled rapidly until she got her breath back. She turned her head and looked up to see the giant glacier of Ahtohallan. Looking carefully, she could make out four diamonds, each containing a symbol of one of the four elements.

“A river of ice, I must be in the right place,” Freya thought to herself. She rose to her feet then found a rock to sit on. As she rested herself and dried off, she noticed something about the glacier.

“Wait...four diamonds, four elements...and Elsa makes five. That’s why Yelena calls her the fifth spirit. Of course! This must be where she gets her power!”

Freya got up, rubbed her hands together with glee, then breezed into Ahtohallan.


	14. The Secrets

While the early evening sun weighed heavy in the sky, the Water Nokk galloped majestically over the crashing waves as it carried Elsa from Arendelle to Ahtohallan. Elsa knew that Freya was way ahead of her, and that time was running out. Elsa thought about how dangerous Freya could become, and the kind of danger Freya could be in. She was fraught with worry.

As she held onto the Water Nokk’s ice bridle, Elsa thought hard about how Freya could have found out about Ahtohallan. Then it hit her. Her parent’s ship! She knew that the map to Ahtohallan was on board. And if Freya had found out about the ship, there was only one thing she would have done afterwards. Elsa closed her eyes tightly, put her hand to her head, and gritted her teeth in anguish. Concentrating on the task in hand, Elsa cleared her mind, threw her arm back down by her side, and opened her eyes. She looked forward, determined to cross the Dark Sea as quickly as she could.

Meanwhile, as Freya glided through the icy caverns of Ahtohallan, she thought about the challenges she might face. Would spikes of ice drop from the ceiling? Maybe she would encounter a sudden blizzard? What about a giant snow beast for her to battle? She pondered these ideas as she skipped through tunnel after tunnel.

Freya came to a wide chasm. She could see the entrance to another tunnel on the other side. Without hesitating, she ran, jumped up and turned herself into a fireball, effortlessly flying across. “Is that all you’ve got?” she thought.

Once she was in the next chamber, she found her path blocked by huge pillars of ice. She shot jets of flame out of her hands to melt them, and she continued gleefully through Ahtohallan, determined to find the source of Elsa’s power.

 _Just think what I’ll be able to do if my powers are as strong as Elsa’s!_ she thought.

Freya soon arrived at Ahtohallan’s huge central chamber. It was a deep blue, which gave the atmosphere an ethereal quality, an uneasy calmness. _This is too easy! Now Elsa, where is the source of your power? It must be here somewhere!_ Freya walked around the enormous dome-like structure, taken aback by how gigantic it was. As she looked up to try and take everything in, she thought she could hear voices echoing through the chamber, even the occasional scream. She looked in their direction, and could see figures made out of ice and snow moving in the distance.

 _These must be the memories Yelena was talking about!_ Freya thought as she ran towards them. She stopped and put her hand to her mouth in shock. She could see visions of herself, her mother and father. Freya slowly moved her hands to her heart as she heard the vision of her twelve-year-old self talk.

“When can I go outside, father?” the younger Freya snarled while she clenched her fists.

“We’ve told you,” her father replied. “You must stay in the castle for your own protection!”

“But I’m sick of this castle!” the young Freya screamed. “All I’ve ever known is these walls! I know there’s a whole world outside! Let me out!”

“No!” the vision of the king replied, standing up straight and towering over the young Freya.

“That’s it,” the young Freya said under her breath. “No more.”

The vision of Freya gently shook her head, then looked at the ground and closed her eyes. She started fires in her hands, then looked up and glared at her father. She slowly raised her hand and pointed at him, the fire burning on her fingertip.

“You are letting me out,” the young Freya instructed as she took a step towards her father.

A vision of Freya’s mother crept up behind her, carrying a bucket of water. As she threw the water over the vision of the twelve-year-old Freya, the fires were extinguished and she screamed in pain. Freya herself flinched as she kept her eyes on her younger self. The vision of her father then picked up the vision of Freya and carried her over his shoulder.

“No!” the vision of Freya yelled with her eyes scrunched shut. “Let me out! Let me out!” she howled while she beat her father’s back with her fists and kicked him in the stomach.

A vision of a door appeared. With a despondent frown on her face, the vision of Freya’s mother opened it. Her father dumped Freya inside before her mother shut the door tightly. Freya’s mother and father looked at the floor while they heard the shouts of Freya as she beat the door. 

“I know it’s cruel,” the image of her father sighed, “but what else can we do?”

“We can’t just lock her up in the tower!” the vision of her mother cried out. “There must be some other way!”

Freya watched as her father shook his head. “I remember that day so well,” Freya said to herself as she turned away from the vision and looked down at the icy floor. “What did I do to deserve it?” she asked herself as she shrugged her shoulders. “What?”

Next, she saw herself when she was around eight years old. Her mother sat with her.

“Look, you’ll like this book!” her mother tried to enthuse. “It’s all about Norse mythology. There’s the god of thunder, the goddess of fire, and this handsome chap is the god of the underworld! Isn’t that exciting!” she said while pointing at the pages.

Freya watched the image of herself as a child try to take an interest in the book. She let out a sigh, feeling a little sorry for her mother. At least she had tried to give her some sort of education.

Freya moved on to a similar scene, but this time she was about three.

“Okay, I’m going to teach you how to read,” her mother said, tentatively opening a child’s book. “You see this letter here? This is an ‘a’,” she said while pointing at it.

“No book!” the young Freya shouted.

Freya raised her fingers to her mouth and giggled as she saw her younger self touch the book and set it on fire. Her mother quickly snuffed the fire out with her hands.

“Don’t do that!” the vision of her mother said sternly. “Do I have to get the water again?”

Freya thought about how she’d always been too much to handle, but her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of a baby crying.

“Come on you, time to get clean,” a vision of her father said. Freya saw herself as an infant, and her father was trying to give her a bath. She was crying her eyes out, and screamed when her father poured water over her head. “Oh come now, it can’t be that bad!” her father insisted.

Freya lunged forward, trying to touch the vision and rescue her infant self, but all she could do was stare in horror. She knew she would have been in pain, but she was powerless to do anything about it. Running up to the vision of her father, she mouthed “Take her out! Take her out!” at him.

Just then, her mother raced into the vision. “What are you doing?” she scowled at her father.

“I’m getting her clean! And look, no fire!” he said while holding the infant Freya’s hand.

“She doesn’t like it!” her mother told him sternly. “Come here sweetheart,” she said as she whisked her daughter out of the bath. The vision of the infant Freya was wrapped in a towel, and she started to giggle as her mother dried her. Freya herself sighed in relief and whispered “Thank you” at her mother.

“There, that’s better!” her mother declared as she tickled her daughter on the tummy. The infant Freya giggled, burbled, and threw her arms out in happiness. A tiny fireball shot from her finger. “Oh, careful!” her mother said while laughing a little.

Freya watched intently while keeping a slight smile and resting her chin on her hand. She’d never seen her mother display so much affection for her before.

The next vision Freya saw was of herself as a baby. She was giggling happily, but small flames were shooting out of her fingers as she moved her arms around.

“What do we do?” a worry-stricken younger vision of her mother said.

“The only thing we can do,” her father said solemnly. “We can’t let anyone know about her powers. I’ll order the guards to shut the castle gates. We’ll close off the kingdom. Permanently.”

Freya felt tears well up in her eyes. She had just seen the moment where she was condemned to a life alone. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to see any more.

She walked along to see one more vision. It was of her mother and father, much younger looking than before, and sitting at a table. On the other side there was an old man sat bent over, wearing a tattered robe. Freya assumed he was a wizard of some kind.

“Look, we wouldn’t usually get involved in this sort of thing, but we’re desperate,” the image of her father said.

“Yes, we’ve been trying to have a child for so long now, we’ll do anything,” the vision of her mother added.

“Can you help us?” her father asked.

The old man sat back in his chair and placed his fingertips together. “Hmmm, perhaps,” he said in a small, croaky voice. “I do have one potion in my collection that may suit your needs. If you take it, you will have a child. But beware, taking this potion has...unforeseen consequences!” he said as he chuckled to himself.

“What sort of consequences?” Freya’s mother asked nervously.

“Well,” the old man replied, “one or both of you could become gravely ill. You may become cursed in some way. The child may have, shall we say, certain special qualities. Who knows? The effects of this magic are very, very difficult to predict!”

“But will the child be healthy?” Freya’s mother asked.

“Oh yes!” the old man enthused as he passed a vial of the potion to Freya’s mother. “The child will be very, very healthy! Positively glowing, in fact!” he said with a grin.

The visions of Freya’s parents looked at each other and nodded. “We did say we’d do anything…” her father said.

Freya stared at the vision of her mother, totally aghast. “No…don’t…” she whispered as she leaned forwards and clutched her hands to her chest.

Freya’s mother contemplated the potion for a few seconds, then tilted her head back and drank it all down.

“Congratulations,” the old man said quietly before coughing into his hand. “I eagerly await the news of the first royal baby!”

Freya turned away, then sank to her knees and wept.

“Mother. Father. How could you?” she whispered to herself through her tears. She looked down at her hands. “How could you make me into the monster that I am?”

Her weeping softly resonated through the chamber.

“No friends. No birthday parties. No life,” Freya said to herself, shaking her head. She closed her eyes and held her head in her hands. Then, she fell forwards, resting her forehead on the icy floor. She made fists, and hit the floor a few times while keeping her eyes tightly shut. For a few minutes, Freya stayed on the floor and sobbed. The quiet murmuring of the voices of the visions that surrounded her were the only other sounds in the chamber.

Freya’s fists became tighter, and they began to shake. They started to glow, and the ice around them hissed as it melted, then evaporated. Freya sat up, put her hands on her knees and fell silent. When she opened her eyes they were blazing with fire, burning brighter than they had ever done before. The light was so intense that her irises and pupils were barely visible.

“All this time it was them!” Freya boomed, her shouting shattering the eerie serenity of the chamber. “It was always them! It’s all their fault!” she bellowed as her voice shook with anger. Freya looked down at her hands. She had opened her palms and started fires in both of them. “They made me like this!” she shouted.

Freya rose to her feet. The flames in her palms were growing taller. She began to gnash her teeth. “They closed the castle gates! They locked me in the tower! Because of them I grew up alone! I never stood a chance! They cursed me before I was even born! Ah!”

Freya arched her back and screamed. As she did so, a huge jet of flame shot from her mouth, and the flames in her hands reached the ceiling. Soon, her whole body was glowing. Flames engulfed her head, as if her hair was entirely composed of fire.

Freya turned to look at the icy visions. “Traitors!” she screamed as she obliterated the visions of her parents with the wizard using a powerful beam of fire. She walked to the vision of herself as a newborn. “Liars!” she bellowed as the ice and snow of the apparition was vaporized by the inferno of her magic.

Freya stomped over to the next vision. “Thieves!” she screamed out as the figures of her mother and father succumbed to an even more powerful blast of her fire. Unable to contain her anguish, she began to form a fireball between her taught fingers. As she took a stride forwards onto one knee, she threw her arms out and screamed “You stole my life!” The entire chamber was instantly filled with her terrible fire, and the remaining visions disintegrated around her. As the fire swirled around the chamber, it created a heat haze. Freya’s pleated hair blew across her tormented face. Breathing heavily, Freya gritted her teeth and started to form another fireball between her hands. She stood up, screamed, raised both of her hands, and shot an enormous beam of fire straight up at the domed ceiling. Huge chunks of it came crashing down as her irresistible torrent of flame burned upwards. Soon, the once serene chamber was a wreck, strewn with shattered chunks of icy debris.

Freya looked up. She could see daylight at the end of the hole she had blasted right through the glacier. Turning herself into a fireball, she launched herself through the gap then stood with triumph on top of the ice. The glacial valley of Ahtohallan laid before her.

Using her powers, Freya created a round collar for herself out of flames. From it came a sheet of fire that ran all the way down her back, before it trailed behind her like a grand cloak. Before long, she was adorned in a regal fire costume that was truly fitting of the Fire Queen.

Freya tilted her head and saw that the greatest fireball of all, the sun, was setting in the west. She watched as it slowly made its way over the horizon. When the sun had finally set, Freya looked down at her hands, and again thought of her parent’s betrayal. Fires built up in her palms as she stared at them through gritted teeth. She then yelled and launched an incredible blast of fire upwards that lit up the sky for miles around.

Meanwhile, Elsa was crossing the Dark Sea on the Water Nokk. She narrowed her eyes and stared intently as the rocky shores of Ahtohallan entered her sights. Then, the entire sea was lit up by Freya’s fire. Elsa gasped and shielded her eyes from the light. The Nokk reared up onto its hind legs and neighed as it was bathed in the light from Freya’s fire. Elsa held on to the ice bridle and stopped herself from falling off. She gave the Nokk a firm pat with the palm of her hand, and it settled back down. After her eyes adjusted, Elsa took a few seconds to look at the fire with an open mouth. She then took hold of the bridle, stared forwards, and pressed the Nokk onto Ahtohallan.

Freya’s fire was even visible in the Northuldra camp. The Northuldra stared at it intently. Partners held each other, and families huddled together. Honeymaren walked up to Yelena.

“What do we do now?” Honeymaren asked nervously.

Yelena stared at the fire and gulped. “We pray that Elsa can stop her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: I love to listen to music while I write. This track inspired Freya's transformation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OU9IYpQ9d4


	15. Ice and Fire

Standing on top of the glacier of Ahtohallan, Freya wanted to see what else she was capable of. She turned herself into a fireball and flew back to the entrance, standing on the shingle beach. There, she looked up at the gigantic glacier through her burning eyes. She used her powers to blast at the ice, a jet of fire cutting through a huge chunk of it like a hot knife cutting through the corner of a pat of butter. Freya retracted the flames and waited. She heard a great clunk as the piece of ice began to move. Slowly, it slid off the glacier before crashing down onto the beach below. Freya watched with glee. With each action she took, she realised just how powerful she had become. She looked at her hands and laughed at how strong she now was. Suddenly, she heard a voice from across the sea.

“Freya!” Elsa cried out, sitting on the Water Nokk.

Freya turned to face Elsa, her fiery cloak trailing behind her. She watched as Elsa made her way across the water and to the shore of Ahtohallan.

“Elsa!” Freya calmly called back with a smile on her face. “How good of you to join me! What do you think of me now?” Freya asked as she gave Elsa a twirl, her cloak of fire shedding flames along the shingle beach.

“Oh Freya, what has happened to you?” Elsa asked as she dismounted the Water Nokk. She was disturbed by Freya’s new fiery, regal appearance. Elsa was struck by the fact that Freya didn’t seem to have pupils or irises. It almost made her look inhuman.

“I found my truth,” Freya declared with her arms outstretched. “That’s what this place is for, right? This is where you found out you were the fifth spirit, isn’t it? Well, do you want to know what my truth is?” Freya asked as she quietly giggled to herself.

Elsa fearfully looked up at Freya. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know.

“My parents betrayed me,” Freya snarled, the anger rising up inside her once again. “They couldn’t have children. My mother drank a magic potion so that I could be born. It cursed me. It gave me these powers before I even drew breath!”

Freya looked at her hands and shot two huge jets of flame upwards. Elsa flinched and took a step back. Freya marched towards her and soon her fiery eyes were right in Elsa’s face.

“You think this place is yours, don’t you?” Freya asked as Elsa leaned backwards, trying to keep away from Freya. Elsa said nothing. She was morbidly transfixed by Freya’s eyes. To her, it was like looking into deep pools of pure anger. Freya glared as Elsa remained silent. “Well let me tell you, Ahtohallan’s secrets are mine now!” Freya hissed at Elsa.

Freya quickly turned and her fiery cloak passed inches away from Elsa’s face. She marched up to the glacier. Looking at the four diamonds, Freya fired her mighty fire beam at the first diamond and carved out a giant “F”. Working across the glacier, she continued to carve out huge letters until she had defaced it with her own name. Once she had finished, she turned to face Elsa again.

“There! Truly the mark of a queen!” she declared. Elsa stared with horror at Freya’s vulgar graffiti. “And now, I must go back to Rizucia to take my true revenge!” Freya yelled. ”I was too kind the first time. I let everyone escape my flames. This time, no one will be spared!”

“I can’t let you leave,” Elsa said nervously while slowly backing away. “You’re...you’re too strong!”

Elsa raised her hands slightly and fired a huge beam of ice. Freya tried to raise her hands to meet it, but she was too late. Elsa's icy magic froze Freya where she stood, her arms raised, her fingers twisted, her face contorted with anger. Elsa shook her head as she approached Freya's statuesque form. The waves crashed against the shore and the shingle clattered underneath Elsa's feet. She raised her hand to Freya's cheek, and once again looked into her eyes, still full of fury even though she was totally frozen.

"I'll fix this Freya," Elsa softly declared. "I promise you." With that, Elsa raised her arms again and used her powers to encase Freya in a huge chunk of ice. Before long, it was the size of a boulder.

"I'm sorry," Elsa said as she closed her eyes and dropped her head, "but this should hold you while I work out how to get you to the Chamber of Emptiness."

Elsa placed her finger on her chin and thought for a second before placing her hand on the block of ice. To her horror, she found that it was wet. She stepped back as the ice continued to melt. As water continued to drip down from the chunk of ice, Elsa could see a red glow forming within it. Two blasts of fire shot through the ice, and Elsa threw herself to the ground. The glow grew brighter, and the ice shattered as Freya exploded through it. As her fiery power subsided, Elsa saw Freya seething through gritted teeth.

Freya tilted her head to one side as she stared at Elsa and came to a realisation. “You’re the only one who is even close to being powerful enough to stop me, aren’t you?” Freya asked rhetorically. “Without you, I’ll be free to do as I please. The whole world will live in fear of the Fire Queen!” Freya shouted while raising her arms.

Waving her hands in front of her, Freya began to form a fireball between them. Elsa saw what was happening and shook her head while holding her hands to her chest. “No…” she said under her breath.

“I must destroy you!” Freya shouted as she fired a huge blast of flame at Elsa, who jumped out of the way. While on the floor, Elsa looked up at Freya and held one of her hands up.

“Freya, please! You don’t have to do this! There is another way…” Elsa tried to say, but Freya wasn’t listening. Elsa jumped to her feet.

Freya fired another stream of fire at Elsa, who fired back a jet of ice to meet it. The two beams met in the middle, causing water and steam to fly out in all directions. For a few seconds, the beams were equal. Then, Freya smirked at Elsa and her fire beam became even stronger. Elsa gritted her teeth and used as much of her power as she could, but Freya’s fire was inching closer and closer towards her. When the fire had almost reached her, Elsa turned her ice beam to the floor next to where she was standing. A huge chunk of ice appeared, and it launched Elsa away from Freya’s fire beam and propelled her towards the entrance to Ahtohallan. 

Before Freya knew where Elsa was, Elsa raised her arms and used her powers to create a storm cloud over Freya’s head. Freya looked up as rain came down from it.

Freya clenched her fists, and her whole body became incredibly hot. Elsa turned to shield her eyes from the blinding, brilliant light that shone from Freya’s fiery form. As the rain came into contact with Freya it evaporated, causing her to be enveloped in a thick, steamy mist. She strode forward out of the rain and pushed her way through the steam. Freya looked around, found Elsa, and stared her down.

Elsa hunched over, raised her hands, and they trembled in extreme worry. Then, Elsa caught sight of the entrance to Ahtohallan. She stood up, smiled at Freya, and began to sprint towards it.

“Catch me if you can!” Elsa called to Freya as she darted into the tunnel. Freya snarled, stopped glowing, and marched over to where Elsa had run to.

Freya raised her arm and shot a jet of fire into the tunnel. As Elsa ran through it, the fire caught up with her. She turned around and used her ice powers to propel herself along the tunnel, but the fire kept coming.

When Elsa got to the chasm, she jumped and used her powers to summon pillars of ice in order to cross it. The fire blew out of the tunnel, and Elsa was finally out of danger. She waited on the other side of the chasm for Freya to appear.

When Freya reached the chasm, she saw Elsa on the other side. Elsa turned and darted into the next chamber. Freya turned herself into a fireball to cross the chasm at breakneck speed.

Elsa knew exactly where she was, and exactly where she needed to go. The entrance to the Chamber of Emptiness was not far away. Elsa knew that if she could just coax Freya inside it, then all of this would be over. As she ran through Ahtohallan, she made obstacles out of ice for Freya to follow. Freya obliterated them with her powers.

“Come and get me!” Elsa called to Freya as she entered the cavern that was directly above the Chamber of Emptiness.

The cavern was huge, perfectly cylindrical, and filled with small black pebbles. At the bottom of the chamber was a round hole, around six feet wide, that led to the Chamber of Emptiness. The pebbles were stacked around it, as if the cavern were a giant funnel. Elsa knew that all she needed to do was to get Freya through the hole.

Elsa went into the cavern and walked to the other side as quickly as she could. Then, she cast her ice over all of the pebbles and waited for Freya to arrive.

“I’ve got you now!” Freya called as she stepped into the chamber. She went to shoot a fire beam at Elsa, but she slipped on the ice and the beam fired upwards. Freya struggled to keep her footing on the icy pebbles and she slowly slid down towards the hole, all while trying to throw fireballs at Elsa. 

Elsa watched as Freya slid closer and closer to where she wanted her to be. Soon, Freya stood right by the hole. However, when she got there, there were no more icy pebbles. She regained her footing, took a second to compose herself, and threw a fireball right at Elsa. Elsa jumped out of the way, but when she tried to stand up, she found that she couldn’t keep her footing on the slippery pebbles either. She uncontrollably slid down towards the hole.

Elsa didn’t know what would happen if she fell into the Chamber of Emptiness. She might lose her powers permanently. She could even be destroyed, as magic was part of her very essence. She had no idea.

Freya laughed as she watched Elsa helplessly slide down the pebbles. Almost mockingly, Freya held out her hand and shot one more fireball at Elsa. Elsa ducked and the fireball flew over her head before exploding. The force of the explosion threw Elsa forwards head first, her arms flailing. As she flew towards the hole, Elsa made a decision. Just before she fell in, Elsa reached out and grabbed Freya by the ankle, pulling her through the hole with her. They fell into the Chamber of Emptiness together.

Freya landed on her feet, the impact of the fall forcing her into a squat position. As the chamber was filled with the sound of pebbles dropping on the floor, Freya gritted her teeth and stood up before raising her arms, ready to use her powers. When Freya caught sight of Elsa, she saw her laying on the floor, face down and motionless. Freya put her arms down and smirked. She thought it was over. She thought that she had won.


	16. The Chamber

Elsa’s lifeless body lay face down on the floor of the Chamber of Emptiness. Freya stood over it and chuckled to herself, laughing at the idea that Elsa thought she was strong enough to stop her. 

Freya tried to think about all of the things she could accomplish now that Elsa was no more, but her thoughts had abandoned her. She looked around to take in her surroundings. She knew that something wasn’t right. They were in a circular chamber with perfectly smooth stone walls, the only way out other than the hole they dropped in through was a simple doorway that led to an icy corridor. Everything was dark green. Freya saw that the walls, the pebbles, even Elsa’s skin and hair were tinged with the menacing green hue. Even so, Freya was filled with a sense of victory, even if she didn’t know quite where she was. She looked down at Elsa’s lifeless form and smirked.

But then, Elsa’s body began to twitch. Freya hurriedly backed away in shock. Elsa placed one hand gingerly on the floor and slowly but surely rose to her feet. Freya raised her hands to use her powers to strike Elsa down, but to her shock and dismay, nothing happened. She tried again and again, but still, nothing. She tried to back off, but there was nowhere to go as Elsa stood between Freya and the door. Freya started to cower behind her raised arms.

Elsa stood up and put her hand to her forehead while briefly wincing in pain. As she too saw that everything was dark green, she realised that she must be in the Chamber of Emptiness. She held her hand in front of her face and tried to use her powers. She was not at all surprised to find that they wouldn’t work. Elsa took a deep breath, relieved that she was at least alive. She turned to face Freya, who was cowering in terror.

Through the dark green of the chamber, Elsa could see that the flames around Freya were gone. Her irises and pupils were visible. Once again, she stood there clothed only in her red dress and red shoes.

“Where are we?” Freya asked, her voice trembling. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her head, and she instinctively put one hand on her forehead while taking a step forward. “What...what’s happening to me?” she asked Elsa. Before Elsa could reply, Freya felt faint and became unsteady on her feet. She stumbled and was about to fall, when Elsa held out her arms and caught her.

“I’ve got you, I’ve got you,” Elsa said gently. Elsa took hold of Freya’s shoulders and bent down so that their eyes were level. “We’re in a part of Ahtohallan called the Chamber of Emptiness. Magic cannot exist here.”

Freya steadied herself and stood hunched over. She waved her hand in front of her and saw how plain it was. She looked up at Elsa. “Magic cannot exist here...I don’t have my powers...so you don’t have your powers either?” Freya asked nervously.

Elsa shook her head and gently smiled. “No,” she said as she held out her arms.

Still hunched over, Freya looked to the side and muttered to herself, trying to take everything in.

“Now let’s get out of here, shall we?” Elsa said softly while gently smiling at Freya.

Freya looked up at Elsa and gave her a bemused nod. Elsa put one arm around Freya and led her out of the chamber and into the icy corridor that led into it. The corridor was normal, the menacing dark green colour had gone.

As they left the chamber, Freya’s mind began to sharpen. She stood up, blinked rapidly, and stared at Elsa. “Have we lost our powers for good?” Freya asked, still nervous.

“Only one way to find out!” Elsa smiled as she held the palm of her hand open.

Elsa paused for a few seconds. Then she closed her eyes and concentrated. A tiny snowflake began to appear above her hand. The snowflake grew larger, and it glittered beautifully. Freya opened her eyes wide and stared at the snowflake in fascination. Elsa closed her hand and it disappeared in a puff of icy dust.

Freya then gulped at Elsa’s display of her magical power. She hurried down the icy corridor to get away from Elsa, then tried to use her powers too. She opened the palm of her hand, stared at it, and desperately tried to make a fireball appear. Nothing happened. She tried and tried again, eventually screaming at her hand, but still no magical fire would materialise.

Freya looked up at Elsa and saw that she was just standing there, gently smiling at her. She placed her hands on her cheeks. “How?” she blurted out. “What’s going on? I don’t understand.”

Elsa sighed and smiled at Freya. “My magic is a part of who I am. But your magic was not part of you. You were cursed,” she said softly.

Freya stopped to think. "I was cursed..." she muttered to herself.

“Look at your hair!” Elsa told her, almost playfully.

Freya let down her long blond pleated hair and took a close look at it. The red streaks were gone.

“I...I don’t have my powers anymore?” Freya stammered as she held her hair and looked up at Elsa. “I’m...normal?”

Elsa sighed happily. “You’re just a normal sixteen-year-old girl!” she replied softly with a smile.

Freya looked crestfallen as she clutched her hands to her chest. “Then it’s over,” she said to Elsa as she started to cry. She held her palms over her eyes and slumped down on the floor. She tucked her head into her knees and sobbed.

“Go on then, do what you want with me,” Freya wailed. “Just make it quick, okay? Make an ice spike and stab me in the heart!”

Elsa shook her head and almost laughed as Freya tucked her head back into her knees. She calmly walked over to Freya and squatted down next to her. “Hey, it’s okay,” Elsa tried to reassure Freya. “I’m not going to hurt you. You’re safe now.”

For a few seconds, Freya sat on the ice and sobbed as Elsa rubbed her back. Then, Freya looked up at Elsa. “Really?” Freya asked as she continued to cry.

“Really!” Elsa quietly enthused as she put her hand on Freya’s shoulder.

“Even after what I did?” Freya sobbed. “After everything I did to Arendelle?”

“Yes!” Elsa declared softly. “I knew you needed help. I wanted to bring you here so that you wouldn’t have your powers anymore.”

As Freya continued to cry, Elsa realised that she was laughing through her tears.

“I don’t have my powers anymore! I’m just a normal sixteen-year-old girl!” Freya said happily through her sobbing. “I’m free of my curse!”

Elsa put her arm around Freya and hugged her. Freya shuffled along the floor to get closer to Elsa then curled up into a ball. Elsa knew that she had been right all along. Freya had indeed needed help.

Without her powers, Freya knew that everything would be different now. She thought about everything she had done, and she was awash with remorse. She looked up at Elsa with tears in her eyes.

“Elsa,” she whispered. “Help me.”

Elsa held her tighter as she tried to reassure her. “Don’t worry,” Elsa said to Freya. “We’ll make this right. I promise.”

“Thank you,” Freya whispered in reply. Then, she started to shiver as a brand new sensation took over her. She hunched over and crossed her arms.

“Elsa…” Freya stammered, “I...I think I’m cold…”

Elsa opened her eyes wide and pursed her lips as she realised what was happening. ”The curse must have kept you warm!” she exclaimed. “Now that fire is out, there’s no time to lose. Let’s go!” Elsa said hastily.

Freya nodded in understanding as Elsa whisked her up off the icy floor. Freya hunched up as much as she could in a desperate attempt to keep warm. Elsa put her arm around Freya and led her out of the corridor, through the chambers and to the chasm. The entrance to the tunnel out of Ahtohallan was far away on the other side.

“I...I can’t get across without my powers,” Freya told Elsa while chattering her teeth.

“Leave it to me,” Elsa assured her. “Just stick close by me, okay?” Freya nodded.

Elsa raised her free arm, and a magnificent staircase of ice materialised in front of them that led all the way over to the other side of the chasm. Freya looked at Elsa and tried to smile, but Elsa gestured for her to climb the stairs. She did so carefully at first, but she soon found her footing and they went across to the other side together.

After going through the tunnel as quickly as they could manage, they stepped out of Ahtohallan and onto the shingle beach where the Water Nokk was waiting for them. While the shivering Freya had eyes for the Nokk, Elsa looked back and saw the glacier. It still had the word “FREYA” carved into it in huge letters for all to see. Using her free hand, Elsa repaired the damage that Freya had done, removing her graffiti and restoring the glacier. After that, they mounted the Nokk and set off over the Dark Sea to Northuldra as fast as they could, Freya holding on tight. 

Although Elsa didn’t feel the cold herself, she knew all too well what exposure to the elements could do. She knew that she needed to get Freya to the Northuldra before it was too late.


	17. Around the Campfire

It was a cool summer’s night in Northuldra. The glowing campfire was the only source of heat and light in the camp. After seeing Freya’s immense fiery display, the Northuldra were restless. Unable to sleep, they milled around the camp, occasionally taking walks into the moonlit forest to try and calm down. Suddenly, out of the darkness came a brilliant blue glow. The Northuldra knew that it could only be coming from Elsa on the Water Nokk, so they came out to greet her with expectant smiled on their faces. Then the Nokk turned as it settled and they caught sight of Freya, who was sitting behind Elsa. The Northuldra suddenly became very nervous and began to back away.

Elsa held out her hand. “It’s okay,” she called out to everyone. “She lost her powers in Ahtohallan, everything’s fine!”

The Northuldra breathed a collective sigh of relief. Elsa dismounted the Water Nokk then helped Freya climb down from it. Freya looked around to take in her surroundings, still in a state of shock.

Still trying to stop herself shivering, Freya looked around and marvelled at the forest. She put her hand on a tree that was bathed in the blue light from the Nokk, and the Northuldra held their breath in worry. They all exhaled when Freya took her hand off the tree, leaving it unharmed.

An angry Yelena strode up to Elsa. “Elsa!” she bellowed. “What is the meaning of this? Why have you brought her here?”

“Please, it’s okay,” Elsa insisted. “She fell into the Chamber of Emptiness and lost her powers. Ahtohallan told her the truth about them. She was born cursed.”

On hearing that information, Yelena opened her eyes wide and ran over to Freya. Meanwhile, Elsa placed her hand on the Water Nokk, congratulating it on a job well done. It galloped back to the sea.

As soon as Freya saw Yelena she instantly became apologetic, as she remembered what she had put her through.

“You were born cursed?” Yelena said to Freya, who quietly nodded. “You poor child!” Yelena put her hand on Freya’s. “Oh, you’re freezing,” Yelena exclaimed. “Come with us. We’ll get you some warm clothes and some food.” Yelena threw her arm around Freya’s shoulder and led her towards the camp.

“I’m sorry for what I did,” Freya said sorrowfully.

“Apologies can wait,” Yelena declared. “Right now you need to be cared for.”

“Honeymaren!” Yelena called. Honeymaren ran over to them. “Find some clothes for this girl, and get her some food. She needs our help.”

Honeymaren nodded and took Freya to her tent. Elsa turned to Yelena.

“I need to send a note to Arendelle,” Elsa declared.

“Of course!” Yelena replied. “Quill! Parchment! Now!” she called out.

The Northuldra looked through their supplies and quickly found what they needed. Elsa hastily wrote a note to Anna: “All is well. Freya has been stopped. Returning to Arendelle tomorrow.”

Elsa summoned the wind spirit and the note was on its way to Arendelle. She then told Yelena what had happened at Ahtohallan.

Meanwhile, Honeymaren took the still shivering Freya into her tent.

“I have some spare clothes here,” Honeymaren said while looking through her things.

“Here we are, get these on!” Honeymaren told Freya while handing her the clothes.

Freya hurriedly changed. Straight away, she started to feel warmer.

“And to complete the look!” Honeymaren declared before placing a Northuldra hat on Freya’s head. “It’s a little big, but it will keep your head warm.”

Freya grabbed the brim of the hat and tugged it down. It nearly went over her eyes.

“Do I look okay?” Freya asked. “I’ve never worn a hat before…”

“You look a little silly!” Honeymaren replied as she chuckled a little. “Here!”

Honeymaren adjusted the hat so that Freya could at least see. Freya raised a slight smile. “Th-thank you,” she stuttered.

“Now, you need some food,” Honeymaren said. “There is a pot of stew on, I’ll get you a bowl. Come with me.”

They walked out of Honeymaren’s tent and towards the campfire. The Northuldra took their places around it and stared at Freya with looks of strange fascination.

“Here, sit down and eat this,” Honeymaren told her as she gave her a bowl of stew. Freya happily took the stew, sat down by the campfire and started to tuck in. She calmed down as she warmed herself by the fireside. As she looked around, she could see that the rest of the Northuldra were staring at her. Some were even smiling.

“Why is everyone looking at me?” Freya asked Honeymaren. “I know what I did to your camp, why aren’t you angry?” 

Honeymaren sighed and smiled. “You’ve been to Ahtohallan,” Honeymaren explained. “We all saw what it did to you, and we know it helped you by taking away your powers.”

“Oh,” Freya said despondently as she looked down.

“I have to admit I’m jealous,” said Honeymaren. “I’d love to go there. Is it as beautiful as Elsa says?” she asked.

Freya frowned. “It contains the truth. For me, it wasn’t beautiful…” she said forlornly while she looked at the campfire as its crackling filled the cool night air.

“Oh,” Honeymaren replied, sounding disappointed. “What memories did you see there?” she asked, hoping to hear about the wondrous magic of Ahtohallan.

“I, um…” Freya stuttered. Just then Elsa came to join them.

“I think it’s a little early to be talking about that,” Elsa said gently. Freya sighed in relief.

“Why are you being so kind to me?” Freya asked Honeymaren. “I don’t deserve any of this, especially after what I did.”

Honeymaren reassuringly put her hand on Freya’s shoulder. “It’s okay,” she said, “we Northuldra understand magic. Knowing that you were cursed explains a lot.”

“Being cursed doesn’t make what I did okay,” Freya replied. “I knew what I was doing. I just...never meant to hurt anyone,” she said as she started to tear up again.

Elsa put her hand on Freya’s other shoulder.

“Hey, no need to cry, you’re among friends here,” Elsa gently told her. Freya turned to Elsa and tried to smile. “How are you feeling now?” Elsa gently asked her.

“A little bit better,” Freya replied as she shrugged her shoulders. “I just...can’t believe my powers are gone!” she said through a smile while her eyes became lost in the campfire. Elsa cleared her throat to get Freya to look at her again.

“Now, let's be honest with each other shall we?” Elsa said quietly through a smile. “You’re not really a queen, are you?”

“No,” Freya replied, sighing. “I’m a princess. My parents are the king and queen of Rizucia.”

Elsa nodded. “And I’m sensing that ‘Freya’ isn’t your real name?” she asked.

“You’re right, it’s not,” she replied. “After I broke out of the tower, I realised I could be whoever I wanted to be. I named myself after the Norse goddess of fire. I suppose it doesn’t suit me anymore…” she said as she looked down and smiled a little.

“So what is your real name?” Elsa asked kindly.

Freya paused for a second while she wondered what Elsa would think. She knew that no one in Arendelle knew her real name. 

“It’s ‘Joanna’,” she replied. Honeymaren looked away, smiled and gently shook her head.

“That’s a beautiful name!” Elsa enthused.

“You think so?” Joanna replied. “It means ‘gift’. My parents wanted to have a child for a long time.” She looked down and sighed. “They thought I was their gift.”

“And you are!” Elsa replied gently. “You may not think that now, but you are!”

Joanna tried to smile at Elsa but she wasn’t ready to think positively about her parents yet. She just went back to her stew and didn’t reply. After a few seconds, she turned to Honeymaren.

“I’m sorry about what I did to the forest,” Joanna said as she closed her eyes. 

Honeymaren rubbed her shoulder. “Hey, you’ve been through a lot,” she said consolingly. “If you really want to make it up to us later, I’m sure we can find a way. Maybe you could help us plant some trees? You’ll find it’s much more rewarding to create than destroy!”

Joanna nodded at the idea then went back to her stew. 

“I think there’s one person you need to apologise to more than anyone else,” said Elsa.

“I know, I know,” Joanna replied softly. “I feel worse for Anna more than anyone. Yesterday was supposed to be her special day and I ruined it. I know what I did,” she said before holding her head in her hands.

“We’ll have to think about how you can make it up to her,” said Elsa. Joanna looked up at Elsa and nodded. She shuddered at the thought of what she put Anna through.

After Joanna had eaten a little more of her stew, the fire spirit Bruni made an appearance. He scampered up to Joanna, looked at her while tilting his head, and made a croaking noise to get her attention. Joanna looked down at him and smiled.

“Oh, hi little guy!” she said gently. Bruni licked his eye, causing Joanna to giggle. “Guess I’m not as scary as I was before?”

Bruni hopped up onto the log and stood next to Joanna. She cupped her hands and held them out for Bruni to jump on. Elsa looked on and smiled.

“Oh, ow, hot!” Joanna exclaimed as Bruni ran around the palms of her hands. She opened them up and dropped Bruni back on the log.

“Sorry little guy,” Joanna said to Bruni, “but I can’t handle you like I used to!”

Elsa smiled and used her powers to create a small pile of snow on the log next to Bruni. He lept on it and sank into it while making a contented gurgling noise. Some steam came off the snow as he changed to a blue colour. Joanna smiled at Elsa before giving Bruni a small stroke with the tip of her finger.

Then, Yelena walked up to the campfire, holding her hands behind her back.

“I hope you have learned why we trust nature,” she said to Joanna. “Elsa has told me what happened. Nature did not give you your powers, but it was the spirits that freed you of your curse and delivered you back to us. But now, we all need rest. It has been a long night, but thanks to our protector Elsa, we can all sleep easily.”

Honeymaren went to fetch a pail of water to put the campfire out. Joanna saw what she was about to do, and she got up and walked over to her.

“May I?” Joanna asked gently. Honeymaren realised what Joanna wanted. She gave a slight smile and laughed a little while handing her the pail. Joanna smiled back then turned to the fire. She threw the water on it to put it out, then let out a contented sigh.

Elsa took Joanna by the hand. “You can sleep in my tent tonight,” she said softly. “Tomorrow we will return to Arendelle.”

That night, Joanna slept soundly, exhausted from her experience. In the morning, Joanna and Elsa got out of Elsa’s tent and prepared to leave for Arendelle. Honeymaren came up to Joanna to wish her well.

“I meant what I said last night,” Honeymaren said to Joanna while holding her by the hand. “We have a tree planting ceremony. It’s kind of a rite of passage. You’d be welcome to return and take part!”

“Thank you,” Joanna replied, “but I have a lot to sort out before I can think of returning here.”

Yelena walked up to them. Joanna looked up at her while tears began to form in her eyes.

“I’m so, so sorry for what I did to you,” Joanna began to say. Before she could continue, Yelena took both of her hands and smiled sagely at her.

“You do not need to apologise anymore,” Yelena insisted. “You will redeem yourself not with your words, but with your deeds. Now go, begin your life free of your curse. When you are ready to return to Northuldra, we will be here to welcome you with open arms.” 

Joanna took a deep breath and smiled at Yelena. Then she waved goodbye to the Northuldra before Elsa helped her onto the back of the Water Nokk. They then set off for Arendelle.

As the Nokk galloped over the gentle waters, the morning sun shone brightly over Arendelle castle. Elsa looked up and took a deep breath, happy in the knowledge that the kingdom was now safe.

Joanna looked around Elsa and took a good look at the castle. She could just about make out the damage she had caused, and she gulped. She knew that everyone in the kingdom must hate her, but she also knew that as she no longer had her powers, things had to be different. Her thoughts were full of fear and worry, but they were tinged with hope. Joanna held on tight to Elsa, and before long they reached the castle.


	18. The Return

Elsa and Joanna arrived in Arendelle on the back of the Water Nokk. Joanna was wearing her Northuldra clothes, including a hat that partially obscured her face. When they reached the castle, Elsa dismounted the Water Nokk then helped Joanna down.

“Joanna, listen,” Elsa said officiously. “This is very important. If the townspeople see who you are, you know what they’ll do.”

“Yes, I understand,” Joanna replied as she looked away.

“Okay, so you apologise to Anna, then stay in the castle while we figure out how to get you home,” Elsa told her firmly. Joanna quietly nodded in reply. Together, they walked into the castle courtyard and found Anna. Joanna continued to look sheepishly at the floor.

“Elsa!” Anna cried out happily with her arms open. Elsa opened her arms and smiled back. They met and Anna gave Elsa a huge hug. Joanna stood there and said nothing.

“It’s so good to see you!” Anna beamed. “We got your note, I’m so happy that Arendelle is safe again! But what happened to Freya? How did you stop her?”

“I stopped Freya in Ahtohallan,” Elsa replied slightly forlornly. “We don’t need to worry about her anymore.”

“Oh,” said Anna, clutching her hand to her chest. “I see...”

Anna turned her attention to Joanna.

“And who is this young Northuldra girl?” Anna asked Elsa. “I thought I’d met all of them. Hello young lady!” she said while bending down towards Joanna.

“I’m sorry Anna,” Joanna said while slowly looking up at her. “I’m sorry for burning Arendelle and ruining your wedding.” As Joanna lifted her head, her forlorn face became visible as it was no longer covered by her hat.

“Freya?” Anna said while squinting at her. She saw her unmistakable green eyes, became alarmed, and started to back away. “Elsa, this is Freya?”

“Was,” Elsa assured her as she stood next to Joanna and held her shoulders. “Her real name is Joanna, and I was right about her. Ahtohallan showed her the truth about her past. Her parents took a potion so that she could be born, but the potion also gave her fiery powers,” Elsa said before letting out a sigh. ”She was born cursed.”

“Born cursed? Oh, that’s awful!” Anna replied as she stared at Joanna and raised her hands to her mouth.

“She fell into the Chamber of Emptiness and lost her powers,” Elsa continued. “She’s just a normal sixteen-year-old girl now!”

”Just a normal sixteen-year-old girl,” Joanna muttered under her breath as she continued to look down at the floor. Her eyes welled up with tears again.

Anna didn’t know what to think. She knew that the girl standing in front of her had destroyed her home and ruined what should have been the happiest day of her life, but now here she was, vulnerable and apologetic. After switching her gaze between Elsa and Joanna for a few seconds, Anna cleared her throat and adopted a stern manner.

“Well Joanna,” Anna began, “is ‘sorry’ all you have to say for yourself?”

Joanna looked up at Anna. “I...I never meant to hurt anyone,” she insisted. “If there’s anything I can do to make it up to you…”

Anna thought for a second. “Well, the cleaning up has started. Maybe you could help with that…”

“Oh, can I?” Joanna said enthusiastically. “Please! I’ll be so grateful!” she insisted.

Elsa sighed. “Just, wait a second,” she said while closing her eyes and holding out her hands. “No one else can know who Joanna is.”

“It’s okay Elsa,” Anna replied while folding her arms. “No one will know it’s her in those clothes. After all, I didn’t realise that the girl who burned my home and ruined my wedding was standing right in front of me!” Anna declared as she scrunched up her face and gestured towards Joanna, who sheepishly took a step back.

“On the other hand,” said Elsa, “I think it would be appropriate if Joanna helped to clean up while we figure out how to get her home. We need to keep her in the castle though.”

“Kai is leading the clean up,” Anna said. “I last saw him at the back of the courtyard.”

“Then I’ll take Joanna to him now,” Elsa declared. With that, she began to walk to the back of the courtyard, Joanna following close behind.

“You keep that hat on,“ Elsa told Joanna. “If anyone asks who you are, you tell them that you’re a friend of mine from Northuldra who wanted to help clean up the castle. Okay?”

Joanna quickly nodded. They found Kai, who was finishing talking to one of the castle staff. He noticed Elsa and walked over to her.

“Your Highness!” he gently enthused. “I see you are back from Northuldra. Is all well?” he asked, leaning over slightly.

“Very well,” Elsa replied. “Freya has been stopped. We don’t need to worry about her anymore.”

“Oh, wonderful!” Kai replied, almost showing emotion. “I trust the queen will address the people with this excellent news?”

“In good time!” Elsa smiled. “In the meantime, my Northuldra friend here would like to help with the castle clean up. Would you be able to give her something to do?”

“Of course, Your Highness!” Kai gave Joanna a broom, and she eagerly set to work sweeping the floors.

Anna and Elsa went into the castle to see how the cleaning up was proceeding. As they walked through the charred rooms, Anna shook her head and sighed. They went to an upper floor and looked through a window where they could see Joanna hard at work.

“How are you feeling?” Elsa softly asked Anna.

“Um, okay, I guess?” Anna replied with uncertainty. “The important thing is that we’re all safe now. Aren’t we?”

Elsa sighed and smiled. “Yes we’re all safe!” she said gently. “We don’t have to worry about Freya anymore. Now that you’ve met Joanna, what do you think of her?” Elsa asked.

Anna flung her arms out. “I...I don’t know!” she replied. “She seems so different. Is she really the same girl who ruined everything?”

“Well, yes!” said Elsa. “But now she isn’t burdened with her powers. She has to be herself. I know she is truly sorry for what she did, and in my heart I’ve forgiven her. Do you think you can too?”

Anna tutted and gently shook her head. “That’s asking a lot Elsa. She hurt me. Badly.”

“You haven’t seen her like I have, Anna,” Elsa continued. “You should have been there last night! We were with the Northuldra, and she was so apologetic. She knows what she did was wrong.” 

“I need to think about that Elsa,” said Anna before looking out at Joanna and shaking her head. “One thing bothers me though,” Anna said as she narrowed her eyes. “It was something you said about the Chamber of Emptiness. You said Joanna ‘fell into it’. How does that work? I thought it had a door?”

Elsa tensed up. “Ah, well you see Anna,” she stuttered. “It’s, um, kind of complicated…”

Anna could tell where this was going. “Oh no,” she said sternly as she started to wag her finger. “We promised not to shut each other out, Elsa. Now you tell me what happened. You owe me that!”

“Well, okay,” Elsa replied gingerly. “But please, promise me you won’t get angry.”

“I promise I will get angry,” Anna snapped, “because every time you tell me to not get angry you say something that makes me angry!”

Elsa held her hands up. “Okay, but just remember everything worked out for the best,” Elsa said before taking a pause. “When Ahtohallan told her that her parents took a potion that gave her her powers, Joanna became angrier than anyone I’ve ever seen before. Her powers became even stronger than mine. She thought that only I could stop her, and that’s when she attacked me.”

“Wait, what? She attacked you?” Anna exclaimed as she glared at Elsa. “Well, then what happened?” she asked tentatively.

“I got her to follow me to the room above the Chamber of Emptiness. She was standing next to a hole that led into it. I was falling into it myself, so I reached out and took her with me,” Elsa replied solemnly. “She lost her powers straightaway.”

“You mean, you’ve been in the Chamber of Emptiness? How could you take a risk like that Elsa?” Anna asked hurriedly. “What if we lost you?”

“I had to stop her,” Elsa sighed. “That was more important than anything. She was too strong, and she wasn’t herself. If she left Ahtohallan then no one would have survived.”

Anna stopped and looked at the floor, trying to come to terms with Elsa’s act of self sacrifice.

“Okay, okay,” Anna said slowly while holding up her hands. “You sacrificed yourself in Ahtohallan. Again. I guess that’s just what you do. But you rode here on the Water Nokk. Why do you still have your powers and Joanna doesn’t?” she asked.

“I found out more about the Chamber of Emptiness after I fell into it,” Elsa replied. “I couldn’t use my powers when I was in it. But when I came out, they were still there. My powers are a part of who I am. No powers, no me,” Elsa said as she held her arms out. “But Joanna’s magic was a curse. Once that was gone, it couldn’t come back.”

Elsa looked distant as she remembered how pitiful Joanna was after she left the Chamber of Emptiness. “After that she was so...helpless. She thought I wanted her gone. She thought it was the end for her.”

Anna almost looked aghast at Elsa’s revelation about Joanna.

“We need to give her a chance Anna,” Elsa continued as she placed her hand on Anna’s. “She’s had such a tough life, maybe even tougher than ours. She doesn’t know compassion. She doesn’t know...love.”

Anna placed one hand on her chest and looked up at Elsa. “Oh, I see,” said Anna softly. “Well, if you’ve forgiven her after all that…”

Elsa gave Anna a hug, hoping that she would do the right thing.

“But Elsa, how can we help Joanna now?” Anna asked.

“We need to take her home. In the meantime, we should give her what she needs, and that’s attention,” Elsa replied.

“But how will we get her home?” Anna asked worriedly. “You heard what Kai said, Rizucia is closed to foreign ships!”

Elsa smiled. “I think they’ll make an exception for their princess!” she enthused. “And besides, who could refuse the Queen of Arendelle?”

“Oh, you want me to go too?” Anna asked. Elsa nodded. “Well, okay,” Anna continued, “I guess it would be good to get away from Arendelle for a few days.”

“Exactly!” Elsa replied.

“Not really the honeymoon I had in mind though!” Anna joked. “Okay, I’ll make sure my ship is ready for tomorrow,” she said as she smiled.

“Oh my!” Anna put her hand to her mouth as she suddenly realised something. “What if someone else recognises her? You know what she did to our kingdom. Everyone saw her taken to prison, if they know that she’s free they’ll be furious! She’s more unpopular than surstromming!”

“Let’s make sure she stays in the castle for now,” Elsa said as she tried to remain calm. “She is so different to how she was. Her hair is down, she’s wearing Northuldra clothes and people can’t see her face. Even you thought she was Northuldra!”

“Yes, until I saw her eyes,” Anna admitted. “And look at Kai!”

Just then, out of the window they saw Kai give Joanna some more instructions on where to sweep next.

“You’re right,” said Elsa as she looked out of the window. “He is none the wiser.”

Elsa placed her finger on her chin and thought for a second.

“Okay, I have an idea,” Elsa told Anna. “We’ll keep her in the castle for now, she mustn’t be allowed near the town. She will need new clothes. This evening, we’ll invite her to dinner with you, me, and Kristoff. If Kristoff doesn’t recognise her, then no one will.”

“Wait, so you’re going to test how stupid my fiancee is?” Anna asked.

“No, not at all-” Elsa began to say.

“Joking!” Anna exclaimed as she smiled and nudged Elsa in the arm. Elsa giggled.

After the two sisters shared a chuckle, they thought about what they needed to do next.

“You’ll need to address the people,” said Elsa. “They need to know they are safe now, and they’ll need to hear it from their queen.”

“I know, I know,” Anna said softly. “I just haven’t worked out what I’m going to say yet. Can you help me, Elsa?”

“Of course!” Elsa replied. “We might have to be a little...creative in places!”

Once Anna had worked out what she was going to say, Anna and Elsa went to find Kai.

“I need to address the people,” Anna told him. “We need everyone to go to the town square.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” Kai replied while bowing.

Kai rounded up all the castle staff, and together he and Anna led them all to the town square. Elsa stayed behind for a moment with Joanna.

“You stay here, okay?” Elsa told her while holding her shoulders and looking her in the eyes. “Everyone else has gone to the town. You will be safe here. Just keep yourself busy.”

Joanna quickly nodded and didn’t say a word. Elsa nodded back, then set off to catch up with her sister.

Anna found Kristoff in town, helping to clean up Blodget’s Bakery. Sven had a bucket of soapy water dangling from his antlers.

“Hi honey!” Anna said as she ran up to her and gave him a kiss. “I have a princely job for you to do. I need you to gather everyone and bring them to the town square. I have some good news!”

“Okay, great! We could all do with some good news right now,” Kristoff said anxiously as he carried on scrubbing a soot-covered wall. He then caught sight of Elsa as she ran up behind Anna. The tension in Kristoff’s body evaporated. “Elsa’s back? Why didn’t you say!”

Kristoff ran towards Elsa and gave her one of his bear hugs. “Elsa!” he smiled. “You’re okay!”

“Yes, I’m fine!” Elsa said as she grinned at him.

Just then Olaf, wondering what the commotion was, toddled round the corner. A huge beaming smile came across his face and he raised his stick arms to his mouth. He then ran towards Elsa.

“Elsa! You’re back!” he yelled as he ran towards her. She picked him up and gave him a big hug.

“So can you tell us all about your new amazing adventures?” he asked.

“Soon, Olaf, soon!” she replied as she put him down and ruffled his twig hair.

“Everyone to the town square!” Kristoff bellowed. “Queen Anna has an announcement to make!”

The townspeople gathered in the square to hear what Anna had to say. Despite the town still bearing the scars of the great fire, there was a buzz of expectancy. People stopped sweeping and leaned on their brooms, ready to listen.

“Queen Anna of Arendelle!” Kai announced.

“Hi everyone!” Anna said while giving a little wave. “I have called you all here because I have some good news. Arendelle is once again safe. Thanks to my sister Elsa, the girl known as Freya, the one who attacked our kingdom, is no more!”

A cheer went up from the crowd and people started applauding. Once the applause had died down, Anna continued to speak.

“It wouldn’t have been possible,” Anna continued, “if our favourite little snowman hadn’t discovered her weakness. Let’s give Olaf a round of applause!”

Olaf blushed as everyone cheered for him. He shuffled awkwardly where he stood.

Anna giggled at Olaf then went to finish her speech. “I want to thank everyone for their hard work in helping to clean up after the fire. I know we should all be celebrating something else right now, but we can all be happy that Arendelle is safe again! Thank you all!”

As Anna concluded her speech, the crowd gave her another warm round of applause. Anna went back to Kristoff.

“Are you staying in town honey?” she asked him.

“Yes,” Kristoff replied. “There’s still a lot to help out with here. I’m happy to do what I can. I’ll be back at the castle later,” he declared.

“Don’t be late for dinner!” Anna told him as she gave him a peck on the cheek. “Love you!” she called as she headed back to the castle.

“Love you too!” Kristoff called back as he waved.

While Anna and Elsa were on their way back, some happily curious townspeople had some questions for them. General Mattias was among them.

“Your Majesty, how was Freya stopped?” he asked.

“Oh, it was my sister’s doing!” Anna replied. “It’s all magic, and you know me and magic!” she gushed.

“We battled in a magical land far away,” Elsa said, trying not to reveal too much. “It was difficult, but eventually ice prevailed over fire!” she said happily.

With that, the townspeople went back to their business and the sisters returned to the castle.

Meanwhile back at the castle courtyard, Joanna was still sweeping up, but something else was on her mind. She placed her broom by the front door, and crept into the castle. While there, she confronted what she had done. Walking around the picture gallery, she saw the damaged paintings. Some were just singed, others were burned beyond recognition. She went to one that was at ground level, and held out her hand to it. As she contemplated it’s charred beauty, she began to cry. She walked to the middle of the room and looked round. Soon, she felt like her head was spinning. She looked at all the faces, all the scenes, and thought about how long each one must have taken to create. The work. The effort. And she had destroyed it all in a moment of rage.

Her face aghast, Joanna stumbled to the corner of the picture gallery, curled up into a ball and sobbed. ”You did this,” she told herself. “You are a monster!” She pulled her hat over her face and tried to shut the world out. For a few minutes, she sat in the corner and wept. Then, she heard noises from the castle gate. She leapt up, adjusted her hat, ran outside and grabbed her broom. She went back to sweeping before anyone came into the courtyard. Luckily for her, Anna and Elsa went back into the castle to attend to more business there, leaving Joanna to her work.

Later, in the early evening, Kai was with Anna and Elsa in the castle courtyard, reporting on the clean up. Joanna, still in her Northuldra clothes, stood next to him holding her broom. She had a smile on her face that suggested she was happy with having done a hard day’s work.

“So you see Your Majesty, the clean up is progressing well, both in the castle and in the town,” Kai said officiously. He turned to Joanna. “And I must say, this young Northuldra is very handy with a broom. Would you like me to find food and lodgings for her for tonight?”

“No that’s fine, we’ll take care of her,” said Anna kindly.

“As you wish,” Kai bowed as he turned and went on his way, leaving Joanna with Anna and Elsa.

“Now Joanna,” said Anna, “we’ve been thinking about getting you home.”

“Oh that’s okay,” Joanna replied happily. “I came over on a small sailboat. If I could borrow one I’m sure I could make it there on my own…”

Elsa laughed a little as she interrupted. “No, no! We’ll take you home on Anna’s royal ship!” she insisted.

“Really?” Joanna replied, sounding surprised. “You’d go to all the trouble just for me?”

“Yes!” said Anna. “And besides, we’d like to meet your parents!”

The mere mention of her parents made Joanna forlorn. “Oh. Okay. I understand,” she said sadly.

“But first, you need travelling clothes. Come with me!” Anna took a slightly bemused Joanna by the hand and led her into the castle. They walked quickly through the corridors until they reached the door Anna was looking for.

“Here we are! This is where my dressmaker works. I hope she’s in!” Anna said excitedly before knocking on the door.

Joanna became very nervous. She leaned over and clutched her hands to her chest. “But what if she recognises me?” she asked Anna.

“It’ll be fine!” Anna enthused as she dismissively waved her hand. “Just keep that hat on!” she joked.

The door opened and the dressmaker appeared. “Good evening, Your Majesty,” she said, sounding a little tired.

“I’m sorry, I know it’s late,” Anna said apologetically. “May we come in?”

“Of course, Your Majesty!” the dressmaker replied earnestly.

Anna and Joanna stepped into the dressmaker’s room. It had clearly been badly damaged in the fire, but some considerable effort had been made to clean it up. The dressmaker worked neatly, all the material was nicely arranged on the shelves. In the corner stood a dummy with Anna’s wedding dress on it. Joanna laid eyes on it and looked down at the floor, feeling very guilty.

“And what can I do for you, Your Majesty?” the dressmaker asked Anna.

Anna thought for a second about how she was going to refer to Joanna. “My...friend here needs a travelling dress for a sea voyage tomorrow,” she told the dressmaker. “Just something quick and simple.”

“I see. I guess she can’t go very far in those Northuldra clothes, eh?” the dressmaker replied, “No problem Your Majesty, I’ll just get her measured up. Arms outstretched please dear!” she said to Joanna.

Joanna lifted her arms, and the dressmaker set to work measuring her. Joanna was enjoying the experience, she’d never had a dress made for her before.

“Now, what colour would you like it to be dear? I’m afraid I haven’t got that much material, but if you say a colour, I’ll tell you if I’ve got it!” the dressmaker said while taking measurements.

Joanna didn’t know what to say. The idea of choosing what to wear was completely new to her.

“Er...what do you think would look good on me?” Joanna asked nervously. The dressmaker stood back to get a good look at her. 

“Oh, hasn’t she got lovely green eyes?” the dressmaker said to Anna. Joanna and Anna both bit their bottom lips. Joanna took a sharp breath.

The dressmaker tapped her chin with her finger and thought for a second. “I do have some nice green material that would go really well with them, how about I use that dear?” she asked Joanna.

Joanna exhaled, smiled and nodded, relieved that she hadn’t been recognised. She was still finding it hard to believe she was being asked questions about what she’d like to wear.

“Alright then, if you need it done by tomorrow I’ll set to work on it straightaway,” the dressmaker said cheerfully. “It won’t take me too long, Your Majesty.”

“Thank you,” Anna replied with a smile. “See you tomorrow!”

“S-see you tomorrow!” Joanna stuttered, trying her best to curtsy.

The dressmaker gave them a little wave as Anna and Joanna made their way back down the corridor.

“Well, I guess Elsa was right!” Anna said as they walked away. “You do look very different!”

“I guess I do!” Joanna said enthusiastically. “That was fun! I’ve never done anything like that before. Thank you!”

Anna was pleasantly surprised that something as simple as a dress fitting could make Joanna so happy. She smiled to herself as they walked down the hallway.

“Now, are you hungry?” Anna asked Joanna.

“Yes…” Joanna said nervously.

“Alright, let's go and get something to eat. It’s time for dinner!” said Anna.

Anna and Joanna arrived in the dining room where Elsa was waiting for them. Joanna sat next to Elsa, and Anna sat on the other side of the table next to where a place was laid for Kristoff.

“Did you get fitted for a dress?” Elsa asked Joanna through a smile.

“Yes!” Joanna replied enthusiastically, “I had a great time! In fact…”

Joanna saw that a butler was bringing food in, so she pulled her hat down and stopped talking. He placed a plate in front of each of them, including one at Kristoff’s place.

“Oh, fish!” Anna said excitedly. “The boats must be going out. That’s good news!”

Just then, Kristoff came in. “Sorry, I’m late everyone,” he said looking at Anna before giving her a kiss then sitting down next to her. He stared at his food and rubbed his hands together. “The clean up in town is going well. Blodget tells me they might start baking again tomorrow! I tell you, everyone’s so happy that awful Freya is gone. Okay, I’m starving!”

Kristoff leaned over his plate and shoved a potato in his mouth. He started to chew then looked up. He saw Joanna’s green eyes and glared at her as he realised who he was looking at. Joanna looked back and a pitiful frown came across her face. Everyone stopped.

The next few seconds saw a huge flurry of movement. Kristoff quickly swallowed his mouthful, slammed the table then rose to his feet with a cry of “You!” directed at Joanna.

In turn, Joanna yelled “I’m sorry!” and got up before cowering behind Elsa’s chair. Elsa also got up and shielded Joanna while glaring at Kristoff. Anna rose from her chair and stopped Kristoff from going to the other side of the table.

“Honey, I need to talk to you,” Anna said to Kristoff as she whisked him out of the room.

Joanna sat back down and started crying. Elsa comforted her. “It’s okay, it’s okay, Anna will explain everything,” Elsa said consolingly.

Outside the dining room, Kristoff was furious. “What’s she doing here?” he demanded to know. “That girl set fire to the castle, the town, and she ruined our wedding day. You said she was no more. Now she’s having dinner with us? What’s going on?”

Anna raised her hands and tried to calm Kristoff down. “No, honey, listen, it’s okay,” Anna insisted. “She isn’t Freya, her name is Joanna. Elsa took her to Ahtohallan, she lost her powers, we found out she was cursed.”

“Cursed?” Kristoff said worriedly before calming down. “So, she didn’t know what she was doing?”

“Not exactly,” Anna replied with uncertainty, “but I’ve spent some time with her, it’s like she’s a different person. She feels terrible about what she did, she wants to make it up to us. She even spent time sweeping floors. Please, just give her a chance.”

Kristoff mulled it over for a second. “Well, I’ll think about that,” he replied, still unsure.

“Can we go back in now?” Anna asked quietly while pointing to the door.

Kristoff nodded. They returned to the dining room. Kristoff sat back down at the table and crossed his arms, occasionally glancing at Joanna while narrowing his eyes.

Elsa cleared her throat to break the awkward silence. “Shall we eat? We don’t want this to go cold!” she said, trying to sound upbeat.

Joanna took a small bite. “Actually, mine is a little cold,” she whispered to Elsa. Joanna put her palm over the plate and tried to warm it up. Realising her mistake, she put her hand down on the table and looked up at Elsa, giving her an embarrassed smile.

“Of course, I can’t do that anymore…” she said. She whipped her hands down by her sides and didn’t know where to look.

“Don’t worry, you’re still adjusting!” Elsa reassured her as she placed her hand on Joanna’s arm.

Anna and Kristoff looked at Joanna, then looked at each other. They both smiled awkwardly, unsure of what to make of Joanna’s confused display. They both then realised what it meant. Her powers were truly gone.

After that, they all tucked into their dinner. As they ate, they talked about Joanna’s journey home.

“I’ll come too,” said Kristoff. “I want to keep an eye on her,” he said gruffly as he stared at Joanna, who shuffled awkwardly in her seat.

After they had finished eating, Anna took Elsa into the next room, leaving Joanna with Kristoff. Neither Joanna nor Kristoff knew what to say, so they just sat there awkwardly.

“That went well,” Anna said sarcastically. “Kristoff recognised her straightaway. What if someone else does?”

“The dressmaker didn’t recognise her, did she?” Elsa asked.

“Well, no…” Anna said as she looked to the side.

“And Kristoff didn’t notice her until his mouth was stuffed with a potato…” Elsa interrupted.

“Okay, point taken,” Anna replied.

“So tomorrow will be fine!” Elsa insisted. “She will have new clothes, we can give her a new hairstyle, and we’ll keep her away from people. We only have to get her to the docks!”

“I suppose so,” Anna sighed. “We’d better go back in.”

Anna and Elsa went back into the dining room and Anna sat down next to Joanna. She thought it was time for her to get some rest.

“Come with me,” Anna said to Joanna, “I’ll show you where you’re sleeping tonight.”

Anna led Joanna into the bedroom where she would spend the night.

“This is one of the least damaged bedrooms,” Anna explained. “The bed just about survived, with clean sheets it should be very comfortable. We found a night dress for you, everything you need should be in here.”

Joanna felt overwhelmed. Just the very idea of sleeping in a bed filled her with joy. She threw herself on it with her arms outstretched.

“Wow! A bed!” she exclaimed before sitting up. “Anna, can I ask you something?” she said.

“Of course!” Anna replied as she sat down on the bed next to her.

“Well...can I stay here in Arendelle for a few days?” Joanna asked. “I don’t know if I can face going home. What I did in Rizucia is at least ten times worse than what I did here. And besides, I want to keep on helping to clean up, and there are so many people I want to say sorry to…”

Anna took Joanna’s hand. “The most important thing right now,” Anna said, “is to get you home to your parents. They will be worried about you, and putting it off isn’t going to help anyone.”

“I...I guess you’re right,” Joanna replied nervously.

Anna paused. She had something that she wanted to ask Joanna.

“Look, Joanna,” Anna sighed, “I know that you must be tired, and I know that you’ve been through a lot, but would you be able to tell me why you did what you did? It would really help me.”

Joanna swallowed hard. “Yes of course,” she said, “I want to tell you. No one has listened to my story before.”

Anna shuffled a little closer to Joanna. She was ready to listen.

“I always knew I was different,” Joanna said while looking blankly forwards. “When I was growing up I only ever saw my mother and father. I even asked them ‘Are there other people?’. I got so confused. I’d get so frustrated and angry. One day my anger and my powers were too much for my parents to take. They threw water on me, then locked me in the castle tower. Then I didn’t even see my parents that much. I was almost completely on my own,” she said as her voice became high pitched.

Anna could tell that Joanna was pouring her heart out. She squeezed her hand and urged her to continue.

Joanna took a second to compose herself before carrying on. “My only glimpses into the outside world came from the tiny windows in the tower. Sometimes I could just about make out people in the town. Whenever I saw someone I thought about how lucky they were. They didn’t have power over fire, they didn’t have parents who hated them, they were free to go outside. I became so jealous.”

Joanna looked down at the floor with her eyes closed. She was finding it hard to keep going.

“As the days went by, I became angrier and angrier. But I didn’t know who to blame. So I did the only thing I could. I blamed the world. I blamed everyone. And I spent every minute alone working out how I would take my revenge.”

Anna looked at Joanna and struggled to imagine herself in her situation.

“That’s why I never wanted to hurt anyone,” Joanna continued, “I only wanted to burn everything that they treasured. They needed to see how lucky they were. I wanted them to know what it was like to be me, what it was like to have what I had.”

“And what did you have?” Anna asked. Joanna stared at Anna, shook her head and said one word.

“Nothing.”

“Oh,” said Anna as she looked to the side.

“But you seem to know things about the outside world,” said Anna, sounding puzzled as she looked back at Joanna. “When you said your name was Freya I thought to myself ‘Where have I heard that before?’ and now I remember. She’s the Norse goddess of fire. That can’t be a coincidence, can it?” Anna asked.

“No, it’s not,” Joanna replied, sounding a little hoarse. She cleared her throat. “My mother read me a book about Norse mythology when I was younger. Ahtohallan reminded me of it!” she said while raising her eyebrows and almost laughing. She gently shook her head.

“I didn’t like my real name,” Joanna continued, “it was too nice, too pretty. I thought Freya suited me better.”

“Well it doesn’t anymore!” Anna declared softly. “So, what other books did you read?”

“Oh, all kinds of things,” Joanna replied.

“What were your favourites?” Anna asked curiously.

“I liked anything to do with fire,” Joanna said. 

“Of course you did!” Anna said while shaking her head and laughing a little. Joanna looked down and almost smiled.

“I know it’s silly,” Joanna continued, “but my favourite book was about the aurora borealis. Fire dancing in the sky. It sounded so magical. Oh, if only I could read that book again…”

“What do you mean?” Anna asked.

“I burned it,” Joanna sighed. “I always burned my books. If I liked the book, I’d read it then burn it. If I didn’t like it, I’d just burn it straight away. I burned everything...”

Joanna looked down at the bed. “My parents put a bed in the tower. I burned that too. I was so angry.”

“Was that the only reason you set things on fire?” Anna asked nervously.

“No,” Joanna said as she shook her head, “I wanted people to pay attention to me too. The solitude was unbearable. The longer I was trapped in the tower, the more convinced I became that I was a monster. And I thought to myself ‘If I’m a monster, I’m going to show you all how much of a monster I can be’,” she said as she scowled and pointed her finger. “I practiced using my powers as much as I could in the tower. You know how I can turn myself into a fireball?”

Anna raised a slight smile and patted Joanna’s hand to make her realise her mistake. Joanna gushed a little.

“Sorry...could,” she corrected herself, “I used to turn into a fireball and fly round and round the tower. It was exhausting, but I knew I needed to get better at it. Eventually I could do it whenever I wanted, and I got faster and faster. I learned how to control my other powers too. I could throw fireballs that exploded, and I could shoot jets of flame from my hands. One day, I knew I was strong enough, ready to be the Fire Queen. I threw a fireball powerful enough to blow the door from its hinges. That’s when my reign began. I burned down everything I could in Rizucia. I called it my kingdom of ashes”, she said as she looked wistfully upwards and ran her fingers through the air.

Anna smiled softly at Joanna and rubbed her hand. She thought about how she had also grown up on her own, but not like Joanna had. She still had questions.

“But why me?” Anna asked. “Why my wedding?”

“When I found out that I’d arrived in Arendelle on the day of a royal wedding I couldn’t believe my luck,” Joanna replied. “I’d only seen weddings in books. When I went into the chapel, I was so jealous. You had everything. A beautiful dress, a handsome husband, and the world at your feet. I couldn’t let you have it all. It wasn’t fair.”

Anna briefly closed her eyes and thought about how lucky she was, despite everything that she had lost.

“And when I heard that kings and queens from all over the world were there, I had to make a move,” said Joanna. “What better way to announce myself to the world than to ruin a royal wedding? Everyone was looking at me. I got the attention I craved.”

Joanna stopped to look up at Anna.

“That’s why I ruined your wedding Anna. And I am so, so, sorry.”

Anna looked at Joanna, gently nodded and smiled sympathetically. She could tell that she was sincere.

“But the girl who ruined your wedding is not who I am now,” Joanna declared. “I thought I would have to be Freya forever. Losing my powers was what I dreamed of. When I had them, nothing mattered. I did what I wanted, said what I wanted, I didn’t care. But maybe now I can have a future. Maybe I can put things right. I don’t think like I did anymore. That wicked girl is gone.”

Anna took a deep breath. She looked at the floor, then Joanna. “Listen, Joanna, I’ve got something to tell you, and it’s very important, okay?” Anna said softly yet seriously. “You hurt me badly. You burned our castle, our town, and you ruined my wedding. But now I can see that you are a sweet girl who just wants to make things right. I understand how sorry you are, and I forgive you.”

Joanna was overwhelmed and didn’t know what to do. She looked at the floor, gasped, then looked back up at Anna.

“You know, when someone says something like that, they usually hug!” Anna said while holding out her arms.

Joanna started to cry tears of happiness, and she threw her arms around Anna. “Thank you! Thank you!” she said through her tears as she held on to Anna tightly. 

“It’s alright,” Anna whispered. “Everything’s going to be alright. For all of us.”

As Anna hugged Joanna, she felt satisfied, as if forgiving her was the right thing to do. She thought about how Elsa had convinced her to see Joanna in a new light. After a few seconds, Anna and Joanna’s embrace came to an end.

“Now, you need sleep,” Anna told her, “We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. I’ll see you in the morning!”

Anna got up and went to the door. “Good night Joanna!” she said gently.

“Good night Anna!” Joanna softly replied.

Anna carefully closed the door and went off down the hall. Kristoff was waiting for her.

“Is everything okay?” he asked. “You were in there with her for a long time.”

Anna looked at Kristoff. “Yes, everything is fine,” she replied. She then looked sideways. “I think...I kind of like her.”

Kristoff just stared at Anna with his mouth open. He looked dumbstruck.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that honey!” Anna giggled. “Come on, I’ll tell you all about what happened!” she said as she led him down the corridor.

In her room, Joanna was alone at night for the first time since she lost her powers. She changed into the nightdress. It was a little big on her, but she didn’t mind. She was just ever so glad to have been given it.

Joanna climbed into the bed, and was amazed by how comfortable it was. She was so happy that Anna had forgiven her and she was ready to go to sleep, but then she looked around. She could see the fire damage that she had caused. The window was boarded up and the walls were charred with black soot. It reminded her of everything that she had done.

As Joanna tossed and turned, the thoughts rushing through her mind wouldn’t let her sleep. She remembered the screams she heard as the fires she started raged on. Then she thought about individuals, and that was worse. She remembered the horrified look on Anna’s face as she set fire to the chapel and ruined her wedding day. How kind she was to forgive her!

As Joanna lied there, more faces appeared to her. She saw her Northuldran guard encircled in fire, Yelena defiantly scowling at her, and poor Henrik unconscious on the floor. She was tormented by the memories of her own selfishness. And then there was her parents. What would she say to them? How could she even speak to them? So many questions and regrets paraded through her mind. Eventually, her tiredness caught up with her. She placed her palms over her eyes, and cried herself to sleep.


	19. At Sea

The next morning, Joanna woke up after a rough night. She was still upset when she heard a knock on the door.

“Good morning Joanna!” Anna called. “May I come in?”

“Yes,” Joanna replied weakly.

Anna walked in and closed the door behind her. She had one hand behind her back. Joanna sat up in bed.

“Is everything okay?” Anna asked, concerned.

“I’ve just...been thinking,” Joanna said hesitantly, “I’ve hurt so many people. What am I going to do?” she asked as she raised her hands before bringing them down onto the bed.

“Let’s get you home first, then everything else will follow on from that,” Anna reassured her. “And anyway, this should cheer you up!”

Anna took her hand out from behind her back and presented Joanna with the brand new travelling dress. Joanna clutched her hands to her chest and smiled at Anna.

“It’s here already!” she said excitedly.

“Why don’t you try it on?” Anna suggested.

Joanna took the dress and raced to a screen by the wall. She quickly changed into the dress and stepped out.

“It’s wonderful!” Joanna exclaimed. “And it fits perfectly!”

“My dressmaker did an excellent job!” Anna said happily. “It looks great on you, and it really brings out the colour of your eyes.”

The dress was indeed simply designed, but it did the job. It was full length and an emerald green colour, just right for travelling. Joanna went to the mirror so that she could get a good look at herself. She had never had a dress made for her before, and it made her feel very special.

“Thank you Anna, I’ve never been treated like this!” said Joanna.

“And that’s not all!” Anna declared as she held up a box of pins. “Time for you to have a new hairstyle!” Anna declared as Joanna raised her hands to her face in happiness.

Anna spent some time carefully working Joanna’s hair into a rope braid updo.

“There, now you really do look like a princess!” Anna declared.

Joanna looked at herself in the mirror and beamed from ear to ear.

“Wow! I can’t believe it!” she said as she turned to Anna. “Thank you so much!”

Anna smiled and laughed a little. “No problem!” she said. “Now, I’d go downstairs and get some breakfast. We’ll be leaving soon.”

After breakfast Joanna, Anna, Elsa and Kristoff left the castle and heard the sound of hooves clattering against cobbles. Around the corner came Sven, who was smiling with his chin up in the air. He was pulling a smart carriage, large enough for the four of them to fit in. Sat up front was Olaf, who was holding Sven’s reins in his little twig hands. He’d found a coachman’s outfit from somewhere, combed his twig hair back, and was putting on swanky airs.

“Your carriage awaits m’lady!” he said in a fancy voice while doffing his hat.

“Thank you Olaf!” Anna said while looking up and giggling.

“A carriage? Why do we need a carriage?” Joanna asked. “I thought the docks were a short walk away?”

“They are,” replied Elsa, “but after yesterday we didn’t want to take any chances. No one will see you in there.”

“Oh, okay,” Joanna replied softly. They all climbed into the carriage and shut the door.

“Next stop, the docks!” called Olaf as he gave Sven’s reins a little tug. Sven proudly trotted off in their direction.

As the carriage went on it’s way, Kristoff had something he wanted to get off his chest. “Listen, Joanna,” he said after clearing his throat. Joanna looked up, almost shocked that Kristoff was speaking to her. “Anna was talking to me last night. She told me about you. I didn’t know how tough your life has been. I think I understand a little more now. I’m sorry I shouted at you last night.”

Joanna looked at Kristoff and raised a slight smile. “Oh, no one has ever apologised to me before, I don’t know what to say!” she said gently. “Well, er, thank you?” she replied in a confused manner. “Really, I am so, so, sorry for what I did,” she told Kristoff.

“I accept your apology,” he said while leaning back and smiling. He put his arm around Anna.

“Oh,” Joanna gushed as she smiled and put her hands on her heart. “Thank you, you don't know what that means to me!”

Before long, the carriage reached the docks. They got off and Joanna prepared to say her goodbyes to Olaf and Sven. Anna went straight to the ship’s captain who was waiting by the gangway. He wore an Arendellian naval uniform, and had a bushy but well kept beard.

“Good morning captain!” Anna said. “What do you think of the repairs to the castle?” she asked as she gestured towards it, trying to divert his eyes from Joanna.

“Good morning Your Majesty!” he replied. “Yes, I can see a fine job. It will be back to its full glory in no time!” Anna smiled and nodded. “Just one thing Your Majesty, are you absolutely sure you want to sail to Rizucia? I’ve never dared sail to a closed country before!”

“Yes, it will be fine,” Anna assured him. “I trust we are provisioned for a return journey?”

“As you requested Your Majesty, the ship is well stocked!” the captain replied.

“Then all will be well!” Anna declared. “We need to see the king and queen about a magical matter. If they don’t want to see us, we will simply return home. If they will see us, we will conclude our business quickly then return. It’s important that we don’t stay. But that’s magic for you!”

“I leave magic to the experts!” the captain concurred. “Very well, we shall embark when you are ready!”

While Anna and the captain chatted, Joanna took the time to say her goodbyes.

“Bye little guy!” Joanna said to Olaf while crouching down. “Sorry I threw you at that soldier!” she whispered.

“That’s okay,” Olaf replied, “now how about a warm hug?”

Joanna smiled and hugged Olaf, before turning her attention to Sven.

“Kristoff is lucky to have such a loyal friend, Sven!” Joanna said. Sven huffed contentedly. “Well, goodbye!” Joanna said, giving Sven a stroke. With that, Joanna hurried onto the ship, keeping close to Elsa and Kristoff.

“Bye everyone!” said Anna. “Remember, we’re only going for a few days. See you all soon!”

With that Anna boarded the ship, and they set sail for Rizucia.

As they sailed away, Joanna took the opportunity to take one last look at Arendelle. She knew she wouldn’t be back, so she wanted to take it in. She was amazed by the beauty of the fjord, the way the water caught the sun captivated her. But then she caught sight of the castle and the town, and her heart sank. Although the clean up was well underway, she could still see the fire damage she had caused. She thought about how much worse it must be at home. She didn’t know if she could face going back.

Anna’s grand ship made its way to Rizucia through rough seas. The waves crashed against it as it lurched up and down.

“I think I’m going to be sick!” shouted Joanna as she leaned over the side.

Elsa put her arm around Joanna’s shoulder. “Let’s go below deck,” Elsa suggested while raising her voice.

Joanna nodded, then rose to her feet. She and Elsa headed below deck and sat down at a table. It was much quieter there.

“Here, have some water,” Elsa said as she poured some into a mug before passing it to Joanna.

“Thank you,” Joanna replied. She took a sip while propping her head up with one hand. She still looked queasy.

“Let’s talk,” suggested Elsa, “it will help take your mind off things.”

“Okay,” Joanna replied as she quickly nodded.

There was an awkward silence. Neither of them knew what to talk about. Elsa knew that Joanna had little experience of the world, and she certainly wouldn’t have any hobbies. She decided to try and teach her how to play a game.

“Do you know how to play charades?” Elsa asked. “It’s a family game.”

“I haven’t played a game since I was a child!” Joanna admitted.

Elsa smiled a little. “Charades is an easy one. You think of a word and then you have to act it out for the other players without speaking. I’ll go first. Ready?”

“Okay, I’ll try!” Joanna enthused. Elsa was already taking her mind off her sea sickness.

Elsa thought of the word “ice”. She stood up, crossed her arms and ran her fingers down them while pretending to chatter her teeth.

“Er, cold?” Joanna guessed.

Elsa pointed at Joanna and nodded to indicate she was close. She then pointed at her feet and pretended to slip around.

“Oh, ice!” Joanna exclaimed.

“Yes!” Elsa said excitedly. “Well done! Now it’s your turn!”

Joanna got the hang of the game straight away. She got up, stood next to the table and placed her hands together. Then, she placed her hands against her face, tilted her head to one side and closed her eyes.

“Oh, is it sleep?” Elsa asked.

“Yes!” Joanna shouted in excitement. “I guess that was an easy one for me to do. Okay your turn, your turn!” she said as she started to laugh with glee.

“Alright, I’ll keep them easy for now!” Elsa said as Joanna sat back down.

Noticing Joanna’s mug, Elsa thought of the word “water”. She mimed picking a mug up and drinking from it, exaggerating her actions so that it looked like she was taking a big swig.

Joanna stopped laughing and her smile turned into a dreadful scowl. She made her guess.

“Betrayal.”

Elsa stopped laughing too. “What?” she asked.

Joanna leaned forwards on the table and put her head in her arms. Elsa moved to sit next to her.

“I’m sorry, did I do something wrong?” Elsa asked, concerned that she had done something to upset Joanna.

For a few seconds, Joanna said nothing. Then she looked up at Elsa. “You reminded me of a vision I saw in Ahtohallan,” Joanna told her, “it was when my mother took the potion that gave me my powers. I’m still so angry with them. Sometimes I just want to…”

Joanna spoke through gritted teeth. Her eyes were wide open, and she had her hands in front of her face with her fingers extended, as if she was trying to throttle something.

Elsa suddenly became very worried. She hadn’t seen Joanna this angry since they battled at Ahtohallan. “Why don’t you tell me all about it?” Elsa suggested. “It will be good to get it all out. What other visions did you see?”

Joanna ran her fingers through her hair, took a deep breath and tried to compose herself.

“I saw many visions of my parents,” Joanna said, “in the first one they were locking me in the tower. I don’t know how I can even look at them again!” she growled.

Elsa struggled to believe that Ahtohallan would only have shown Joanna visions that made her angry. She remembered when she was there, and how many visions she saw.

“Were all the visions bad? Were any of them...happy at all?” Elsa asked.

Joanna thought for a second. “I saw visions of my mother trying to teach me things,” she replied. “In one she was teaching me to read, in another she was teaching me Norse mythology.”

Joanna suddenly sat up and almost smiled. “And then, I saw my mother taking me out of a bath when I was a baby. At first I was screaming, but then I started to giggle as my mother dried me. She was ticking me, holding me...it just looked...so right…” she said slowly.

“So there was at least a time when your mother cared about you?” Elsa asked.

“I...I guess she must have,” Joanna concluded, “but they locked me in the tower. Do you think they still care?” she asked as she looked up at Elsa.

“Parents always care about their children,” Elsa replied while putting her hand on Joanna’s shoulders, “they must still care about you. They must’ve thought they had no other choice.”

There was a pause as Elsa thought of another question. “Did your mother teach you anything else?” she asked.

Joanna was pensive. “She tried to teach me how to write, how to appreciate books, and how to pleat my hair.” A small smile came across Joanna’s face as she sighed. The idea of giving her parents another chance crept into her mind. “Well...maybe my mother did care about me,” she said softly.

“I think you need to give your mother another chance,” Elsa said gently.

Joanna smiled. “You always want to see the good in everyone, don’t you?” she asked. “Even me! And I don’t understand why…”

“Let me tell you why,” said Elsa. “It’s because you and I really aren’t that different.”

Joanna furrowed her brow in confusion. She looked up at Elsa. “How? You didn’t grow up alone, did you?”

“I did,” Elsa admitted, “and it was due to my powers.”

Joanna was surprised by Elsa’s revelation. She sat up and listened intently.

“I was born with my powers,” Elsa said as she recalled her childhood. “Anna and I used to have so much fun with them when we were children. I’d create snow indoors and we’d slide around on the floor, make snowmen, have a great time. Then something went wrong. One day we were playing and I accidentally struck Anna. She stopped moving and went ice cold. Father took us to see some trolls. They used their magic to heal Anna and remove her memories of my powers. From then on, my father decided that my powers must be kept a secret from everyone, even Anna. I spent all of my time in my room after that.”

“You mean, you were kept away from everyone because of your powers?” Joanna asked. “But you seem so happy now. How did you cope? Did you get angry too?”

Elsa smiled at Joanna. “I did get angry, but I kept it all inside. My father knew that I was going to be queen one day. He taught me ‘conceal it, don’t feel it’ and ‘be the good girl you always have to be’,” Elsa said in a stern manner while pointing her finger. “My father did his best to help me by trying to keep my powers hidden. That was, until we lost him,” Elsa sighed.

“What happened?” Joanna quietly asked.

“My mother and father were lost at sea when I was about your age,” Elsa answered. “We always thought that their ship went down in the Southern Sea, but we found it washed up on the coast of Northuldra. They were looking for the source of my powers. They were trying to reach Ahtohallan.”

Joanna pieced things together. “I found that ship,” she told Elsa as her eyes widened. “I found a map to Ahtohallan, then…” she said as her bottom lip started to wobble. ”I burned it. I didn’t know it was your parents’ ship! I’m so sorry!” she whispered as she looked up.

“You don’t have to keep apologising for what you did!” Elsa calmly insisted. “I knew you must’ve found that ship. How else would you have known about Ahtohallan? And anyway, that ship held terrible memories for us. We haven’t been back to it since we discovered it.”

Joanna looked aghast. Elsa’s explanation couldn’t ease her. “Oh, you must think I’m a monster!” she wailed as she started to cry. “I destroyed your parents’ ship! The ship they perished on! I’m awful!”

Joanna buried her face on the table as Elsa put her arms around her. Elsa was keen to change the subject.

“Never mind about that now. What about the other visions?” Elsa asked. “What happened after you saw your mother take the potion?”

Joanna looked up and went as white as a sheet, but not from the sea sickness. She propped her head up with one hand and looked up at Elsa with shocked, wide eyes.

“I...I try not to think about that,” Joanna admitted. “I feel it rather than remember it. The revelation made me so angry. It scares me to think about how angry I was. It was almost painful.”

Elsa wanted to tell Joanna that she didn’t have to think about it, she didn’t want her to hurt herself. However, Joanna had already closed her eyes in concentration.

“I remember...standing on top of Ahtohallan and watching the sunset,” Joanna began to recall, “then I was on the beach, and you arrived, and...and...oh no…”

Joanna became distraught as she remembered what she had done. Elsa held onto her.

“I...I attacked you!” Joanna bawled. “How could I do such a thing? After everything you’ve done for me!”

Joanna slammed her fist on the table and became hysterical. “I destroyed your castle, your kingdom, I ruined your sister’s wedding, I burned your parent’s ship, and I tried to destroy you!” she screamed. She started to hyperventilate. “I am a monster! How can you even look at me?” she cried as she flipped the table over, causing an almighty crash and throwing her mug of water across the room. She sprung to her feet.

“I don’t deserve to be here! I should throw myself overboard right now!” she cried. Joanna tried to run away, but Elsa grabbed her arm and yanked her back into her seat. Elsa pinned Joanna down by her shoulders. Joanna struggled as Elsa tried to hush her and calm her down.

“Let me go Elsa!” Joanna cried. She tried to wrestle herself from Elsa’s grasp, but Elsa held her tightly. Joanna stopped struggling and became even more despondent, holding her trembling hands near her mouth and wailing out in despair.

“Ssssh,” Elsa tried to hush Joanna while holding her. “Stay with me Joanna, stay with me. It’s okay, it’s okay. Think about what happened after we left the Chamber of Emptiness. Can you do that?”

Joanna curled up into a ball and nodded, her face still tormented with guilt. Elsa held on to her tightly, just as she had done in Ahtohallan after Joanna lost her powers. “Sssssh,” Elsa tried to hush Joanna again. “It’s okay, everything’s okay.”

Still hyperventilating, Joanna rested her head against Elsa and continued to cry, disgusted with herself. Elsa cradled her and stroked her hair.

Just then Anna put her head round the door to check what was going on. She saw Joanna in tears and Elsa consolingly her. As Joanna cried, Anna and Elsa caught sight of each other. Elsa looked at Joanna, then gave Anna a little head nod to tell her everything was in hand. In return, Anna smiled, nodded and left.

“I know what you need,” Elsa said softly. She began to gently sing.

_“Where the north wind meets the sea_  
_There's a river full of memory_  
_Sleep, my darling, safe and sound_  
_For in this river you were found”_

Joanna closed her eyes. Her breath slowed as Elsa sang. She untensed her arms and laid her hands in Elsa’s lap. Slowly, a sense of calm returned to her. She felt honoured to be where she was. Joanna knew that whatever she said to Elsa, Elsa would understand. She wouldn’t shout, she wouldn’t get mad, she would just listen.

Elsa continued to sing “All is found”, a lullaby her mother sang to her when she was a child, changing the words to suit Joanna. A wave of serenity washed over Joanna, the like of which she had never experienced before. She became at peace. The sea had calmed, and the gently rocking combined with Elsa’s tranquil voice sent Joanna off into a restful sleep.

When Elsa finished singing, she continued to stroke Joanna’s hair as she let her sleep. She smiled to herself, content that she had settled Joanna. Elsa looked at Joanna’s face as she slept, and was amazed to see just how serene she was. Knowing that Joanna needed the rest, she let her sleep for as long as she needed.

After some time, Joanna began to gently stir. While still resting her head against Elsa, she looked up at her.

“Thank you, Elsa,” Joanna said softly and sincerely.

“Feeling better now?” Elsa asked.

“Yeah,” Joanna enthused while gently nodding.

“There’s just one more thing I’d like to know,” said Elsa. ”If you knew that the Chamber of Emptiness existed, somewhere where you would lose your powers, you would have gone there, wouldn’t you?”

“I wouldn’t have believed you,” Joanna said through a smile. “If I was standing right in front of it, I would have gone in. I wouldn’t have even thought about it.”

Elsa rubbed Joanna’s shoulder and smiled softly. “I thought so,” she whispered to her.

Joanna let out a contented sigh. She allowed herself to rest on Elsa for a few moments more, when an idea came into her head.

“Elsa?” Joanna asked. “Can we play games with the others later?”

Elsa laughed a little. “Let’s ask them, shall we?” she said as she got up and led Joanna back on deck. Anna and Kristoff were already there, looking out to sea.

The sea was a lot calmer than it was before, and Joanna took in a lungful of bracing sea air. She turned to Anna and Kristoff.

“Hi, er, I was wondering,” Joanna stuttered, “would you guys like to play games tonight?” she asked.

Anna took a step towards Joanna. “Sure,” she said.

“Sounds like fun!” Kristoff added.

“Great!” Joanna gently enthused as she smiled at everyone. “Would you excuse me?” she asked. “I just need a minute,” she said, and with that she went below deck.

“Well, what was all that?” Anna asked Elsa. “We heard shouting, is everything okay?”

“It is now,” Elsa confirmed gently. “The poor girl, everything just got too much for her,” Elsa sighed.

“What did?” Anna asked with a tinge of concern in her voice.

Elsa closed her eyes and put her hands out. “She told me something bad, not worse than what we already know she did, just prepare yourself Anna,” Elsa said.

“What?” Anna replied as she clutched her chest and took a step forward. Kristoff put his arm around her shoulder.

“I don’t know exactly when she found it,” Elsa continued, “but somehow she found mother and father’s ship.”

Anna took a sharp breath and held her hands to her chest in worry.

“That’s how she found out about Ahtohallan,” Elsa said while looking down. “She must have found the map. After that she...burned the ship.”

Anna opened her mouth in shock and tears started to well up in her eyes. She turned to Kristoff and cried into his chest. She then raised her head.

“Our parents’ ship…” Anna said softly. “The ship they passed away on…”

Anna stood up and took a deep breath. “I don’t know why I’m so upset,” she said as she wiped away her tears. “After all, she burned everything else. I should have guessed that she’d burn that ship too.”

Elsa looked on as she watched Anna try to come to terms with her grief.

“And that ship held so many bad memories,” Anna continued, “and we never did recover their bodies...”

Anna looked to the side and let out a huge sigh. “We’ve never been back. She probably did us a favour…”

Elsa took a step towards Anna. “If it’s any consolation Anna, Joanna feels terrible about what she did. That’s what all the noise was about. She also remembered that she attacked me at Ahtohallan,” said Elsa.

Elsa sighed and closed her eyes as she recalled Joanna’s torment. “It took everything I had to stop her, but she wanted to...throw herself off the ship,” she told Anna.

Anna looked aghast and held her hands to her chest. “But Elsa, she’s alone now…”

Elsa opened her eyes in shocked realisation. “Joanna!” she called as she raced below deck.

As fast as she could, Elsa ran to the room where she comforted Joanna. There she found that the table had been put back. Joanna was slumped over it, face down. She wasn’t moving.

“Oh, Joanna…” Elsa said as she held her hands to her mouth. “What have you done?” Fearing the worst, Elsa gently walked over to Joanna, one step at a time. She slowly sat down next to her, and placed her hand on her arm.

Joanna’s head shot up. Elsa smiled and sighed in relief. “Oh Joanna, you’re okay!”

Joanna looked at Elsa with bleary-eyed confusion.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she said while rubbing her eyes. “It’s just so comfortable here, I felt like a nap…”

As Elsa continued to smile, Anna and Kristoff came into the room. Joanna noticed that Anna had been crying.

“Is everything alright?” Joanna asked, looking round at everyone. “What’s going on?”

“I told them about the ship,” Elsa told her. “It’s been difficult…”

“I’m so sorry!” Joanna blurted out. Anna sat next to her.

“It...it’s okay,” Anna began to say. Joanna interrupted her.

“No, no it’s not!” Joanna declared. “I feel terrible about it!”

“Hey, we’re all hurting right now,” Elsa said as she placed her hand on Joanna’s arm. “But the only way we’re going to get through it, is together.”

Joanna briefly looked up at Anna then looked down again and briefly nodded.

“You’re right, Elsa,” Anna said as she sighed. She held her arms open to Joanna.

“Oh,” Joanna exclaimed while raising her fingers to her mouth. She leaned forward and hugged Anna.

Elsa shuffled up to Joanna and hugged her too. Kristoff smiled a little, shrugged his shoulders, then joined in the hug as well.

Once the hug was over, Elsa had a suggestion to make. “Now, what about those games?” she suggested.

“Just, give me a minute,” said Anna. “I think I could do with some sea air.”

Anna left the table and went on deck. She folded her arms, leaned against the railings and sighed as she looked out to sea. As she heard the sound of the waves lapping against the ship, she contemplated everything that had happened.

After leaving her alone for a couple of minutes, Kristoff came to join Anna. He put his arm around her and looked out to sea too.

“Are you okay?” Kristoff asked Anna.

Anna sighed again. “Yes,” she replied hesitantly. “There’s just so much to think about. So much has happened over these last few days, and so much of it has been bad…”

“We’ll get through it,” Kristoff assured her. “In a few days, Joanna will be home. Just think about what that could mean. If all goes well, a lost daughter will be reunited with her family. It could be beautiful.”

“Yes,” Anna said as she narrowed her eyes and smiled slightly. “It could, couldn’t it?”

“And Arendelle will recover,” Kristoff continued. “Then we will be able to get married. You will have that fairy tale wedding I know you want. And it will be even more special, I can’t wait!”

Anna got closer to Kristoff and stroked his arm. “Thank you honey,” she said gently. “I can’t wait either!” she enthused as she turned to kiss him. Anna and Kristoff kissed, then embraced. Anna felt ready to go back below deck. Together, Anna and Kristoff took their seats at the table.

“What shall we play?” Anna asked.

“How about some card games?” Elsa suggested. “I think there is a deck in that cupboard.”

“Cards, good idea!” Kristoff declared as he sauntered over to the cupboard. He rummaged around and soon found what he was looking for. “Here we are!” he said as he picked up the pack and showed it to everyone else.

“You’ll have to tell me how to play,” Joanna admitted. “I couldn’t play with cards when I was little. You know, me...card...not a good mix…”

“Don’t worry,” Elsa said as she put her hand on her arm. “We’ll start with something simple. How about Snap?”

“Snap!” Kristoff exclaimed. “Isn’t that a bit too easy?” he asked.

“I can't even remember what the cards look like,” Joanna confessed. “I think I need to start with a simple game!”

Kristoff handed the cards to Elsa. She took them out of the packet and laid them across the table face up.

“Oh numbers!” Joanna said excitedly. “I remember them!”

Elsa chuckled a little as she began to explain what the cards were. “Okay, so there are four ‘suits’, spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs. Each suit has the numbers two to ten, and there are also aces. These can be worth one or eleven depending on the game you are playing.”

Joanna looked up at Elsa in confusion while Elsa kept explaining. “Then there are the ‘face’ cards, which are jacks, queens and kings,” Elsa concluded.

“I love the decoration!” Joanna said as she picked up the Queen of Hearts. “But why isn’t there a princess card?”

Anna giggled at Joanna’s naivety. “That would be good wouldn’t it!” she exclaimed. “I don’t know, there just isn’t. Now then, how does ‘Snap’ work, Elsa?”

Elsa began to deal out the cards as she explained the rules. “We split up the cards between the players, face down. Then, we take it in turns to put a card face up in the pile in the middle of the table. If two cards with the same value are played in a row, the first person to shout ‘Snap’ wins all the cards. Whoever has all the cards at the end of the game wins!”

“Okay, I think I understand,” said Joanna.

“Seeing as you’re the youngest, you go first!” Anna told Joanna.

“Alright then!” Joanna said as she cautiously drew a card and placed it in the middle of the table. It was the four of diamonds. Elsa went next and played the four of clubs. Everyone went quiet and looked at Joanna. She realised that everyone was looking at her, then she looked at the two cards.

“Oh, snap!” she cried as she worked out why the others were looking at her. She reached out and took the cards. “That was very kind of you!” she told everyone. “But please, don’t let me win! I need to learn!”

“Oh alright!” said Anna. It was her turn next. They all took their turn but no matches came for some time. Then Anna drew a king, and Kristoff followed with another king.

“Snap!” Kristoff and Joanna called at the same time.

“Oh, I think you just won that one!” Kristoff gallantly conceded as he passed the cards to Joanna. Joanna let out a small giggle in response.

They carried on playing and eventually Joanna had all the cards. “You win Joanna! Not bad for a beginner!” said Anna.

“Thank you!” Joanna replied. “That was fun! I think I’m ready for something a little more complicated now!”

For the rest of the journey, the four of them played games and talked. They taught Joanna some new games, and she came to feel accepted. After a couple of days at sea, the ship reached Rizucia.

“Land ho!” came a call from the crew. Joanna raced up on deck. Finally, she could see her home.

The damage was so much worse than she feared. The fires had raged out of control for days, and the castle was covered in black soot. There were gaps in the towns where houses should have been. Joanna started to cry. Elsa put an arm around her.

“We’re going to make this right, remember?” Elsa said reassuringly.

Joanna couldn’t bear to see anymore, and she ran back below deck. The ship docked, and they prepared to set foot on Rizucian soil for the first time.


	20. A New Country

It was a sunny day in Rizucia, and Anna’s grand ship arrived to the sounds of seagulls and the waters gently lapping against the docks. The docks themselves were almost deserted, save for a few fishing vessels and a couple of small sailboats. To the crew’s surprise, they managed to dock without incident. Anna and Kristoff disembarked. Then, a couple of Rizucian soldiers went up to the ship, armed with lances.

“I’m sorry,” said one of the soldiers, standing up straight and looking forwards, “you have had a wasted journey. Rizucia is closed to foreign shipping. You must disembark immediately. Goodbye.”

Kristoff cleared his throat. “Presenting Queen Anna of Arendelle!” he declared snootily while gesturing towards Anna. Anna smiled at the soldiers at gave a little wave.

The soldiers looked wide-eyed in shock. “Y...Your Majesty!” one of them stuttered. “Oh my, the Queen of Arendelle! Rizucia hasn’t been visited by foreign royalty since…”

As the soldier stood counting the years, Anna interrupted him and put on her official tone.

“Could you please inform your king that Queen Anna of Arendelle requests an audience with him? We have a very special guest on board,” Anna told him.

The soldier thought for a second. “I will do what I can. In the meantime Your Majesty, I’m afraid you must stay here. Please, do not leave your ship,” he commanded.

Anna and Kristoff returned to the ship and told the others what was going on. The soldier went to tell his superior, who told his superior, and soon Anna’s message reached the King of Rizucia.

Word got out in the town that a grand Arendellian ship was at the docks. The people of Rizucia were naturally curious about this strange development, and soon a crowd of a few hundred were milling around the docks. A small force of soldiers arrived at the ship, trying to move people on.

A man tending to his small sailboat heard the commotion, and put down the rigging he  
was working on before making his way to Anna’s ship. He bumped into a friend.

“Hi Stig,” his friend said. “You’re always at sea, any idea what’s going on?”

“It’s been such a long time,” Stig replied while stroking his chin, “but I’m sure I recognise the flag on that ship. Purple and green with a gold crocus, I think that’s...Arendelle?”

“Arendelle?” his friend exclaimed. “Why would an Arendellian ship sail here after all these years? Do you think it might have anything to do with the girl who hijacked your ship?”

“Maybe,” Stig mused. “She forced me to sail east because I told her that Arendelle was the closest kingdom within sailing distance.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Well, whatever it is, it must be important for the Arendellians to risk coming here!”

After a short while, a large horse drawn carriage made its way towards the docks, flanked by soldiers armed with lances who made sure that the crowd got out of its way. As the carriage drew up to the ship, the soldiers struggled to keep the onlookers away.

“The royal carriage?” Stig exclaimed to his friend. “Well, now I really am intrigued!”

The King and Queen of Rizucia emerged from the carriage with their handler, and they quickly boarded Anna’s ship, doing their best to keep away from the crowds. Kristoff was waiting for them.

“My apologies,” the handler said to him, “but I think it would be best if we conducted the formal pleasantries here.”

“Sure thing!” Kristoff said as he nodded before he went to fetch Anna.

The King and Queen of Rizucia dusted themselves down, and tried to make themselves as presentable as possible. They were both in their early fifties, and their clothes suggested that they left the castle in a hurry. The king had a well groomed, thick black beard, was quite tall and of medium build, and he wore a gold chain round his neck. The queen had blond hair and wore a dark brown dress, almost as if she was in mourning. They looked at each other nervously as they awaited the appearance of the Queen of Arendelle.

Soon, Kristoff appeared with Anna. “Queen Anna of Arendelle!” he announced, smiling confidently at her.

The Rizucian handler stepped forward. “King Sigurd and Queen Thyra of Rizucia,” the handler declared. He stepped away looking quite proud of himself. He hasn’t been able to say those words for some time!

The king and queen walked towards Anna, and they quickly exchanged customary bows and curtsies.

“To what do we owe this visit?” the king asked nervously. “We heard that you have someone important on board?”

Anna could see how agitated they were. She told them straight away.

“We have Joanna with us,” she said.

The king and queen looked at each other and quickly went through a whole range of emotions. They didn’t know whether to be happy, relieved, or even terrified.

“She’s here?” the king asked, panicking. “You’re in danger! We have to get off the ship right now!” he said as he turned to leave.

Anna quickly stopped him. “It’s okay! She doesn’t have her powers any more!” she assured them as she smiled.

”What?” the king exclaimed. The king and queen were just more surprised and confused. “Well...how?” the king asked with his arms out.

“Let me take you to my sister Elsa,” Anna said. “She can tell you what happened.”

Anna led the king and queen through the ship to meet Elsa. She introduced them and they began to talk.

“So she doesn’t have her powers anymore?” the queen asked. “What happened? Is she alright?”

“She’s fine,” Elsa tried to reassure them. “Your daughter has been through a lot over the last few days.”

“Can we see her?” asked the king.

“She’s in the next room,” Elsa replied. “But before you see her, there’s something you need to know.”

The king and queen looked at Elsa with anticipation, worried at what Elsa was about to tell them.

“She knows about the potion,” Elsa sighed.

The king and queen both opened their mouths, looking totally aghast. They looked at each other fearfully.

“But how…” the king started to ask.

“We both knew we were going to have to tell her one day,” the queen interrupted. “Oh, she must really hate us now!”

“She doesn’t hate you!” Elsa smiled. “But she does have a lot of questions. Are you ready to meet her?” Elsa asked.

The king nervously nodded, and Elsa took the king and queen to the room where Joanna was sitting on a chair. She had clearly been crying.

The king and queen stood in the doorway and looked lovingly at Joanna. In turn, Joanna looked up at them with a frown on her face. So many thoughts raced through her mind. She tried to smile at them, but her smile quickly turned back into a frown. She couldn’t bring herself to leave her chair. Joanna’s parents walked into the room and crouched down beside her.

“Joanna…” the king said softly in his deep voice. “It’s so good to see you safe. Are you alright?”

Joanna folded her arms, looked to the side and frowned. “I’m fine…” she whispered coldly. “I’m sorry for what I did to Rizucia…” she sighed.

“That doesn’t matter now,” her mother said, waving her hand. “We heard you lost your powers?” her mother said.

“I have Elsa to thank for that,” Joanna said, still looking away. “She’s done so much for me,” she said as she began to raise her voice. “More than you ever did!”

“We did all we could…” the king said softly.

Joanna huffed. “I don’t believe it!” she said as she shook her head. “Elsa has done more for me in two days than you did in my entire life! She understands me!” she shouted as she pointed to herself.

The king and queen both looked down, unsure of what to say next.

Joanna tried to steady herself. “Look, I know I need to try and make up for what I did here, but I wish I could go back to Arendelle and live with Elsa,” Joanna confessed.

“You can’t mean that,” her mother insisted. “Rizucia is your home!”

“My home…” Joanna muttered as she gently shook her head and smirked. “I barely know this place! I’ve only glimpsed the town through the windows of the tower. You made a prison my home!”

“We are sorry for what we did, we really are,” her mother replied. “We shouldn’t have locked you up in the tower. It was for your protection, and the town’s. We were worried that you’d do...well, what you did.”

“We didn’t know what else to do,” the king insisted.

“I was locked in that tower for years!” Joanna cried as she made fists and threw them down. “You locked me up! I had no friends!” she wailed.

“We had to,” her mother replied softly. “If there was some other way…”

“And you never once tried to help me,” Joanna said as she looked at the ground. “Elsa knew how to take my powers away. Why didn’t you?” she said angrily as she looked up at her father.

“But we tried Joanna!” the king insisted as he held his arms out. “We really did try!”

“How?” Joanna said despondently as she threw her arms out.

The king took a deep breath. “We know you know about the potion,” the king sighed. “We got it from a man who we thought was just a legend. We were desperate to have a child, desperate. We needed to continue the family bloodline. I needed an heir,” the king insisted. “And more than anything else, we wanted a child to love. The castle was so empty...”

Joanna shook her head as she listened to her father.

“We heard a rumour of a wizard who could help us,” the king continued. “He turned out to be an old man who collected potions. It took us years to find him. We had to ride for five days to find his forest house. He promised us a child. We had to take the risk…”

The queen held on to the king's hand, imploring him to continue the story.

“After you were born,” the king said as he looked at Joanna, “we knew straight away that you were cursed. We tried to find a cure.”

Joanna rolled her eyes and gave a small, indignant laugh.

“I sent my best rider to fetch the wizard. But when he reached his house, he found him sitting in his chair, stiff as a board. His secrets died with him,” the king said solemnly. “Ever since then we tried to find an answer. We scoured the kingdom for witches, wizards, warlocks, anyone who understood magic. But no one could help.”

The queen looked at Joanna and gently smiled, as if she was imploring her to believe her father.

“Believe me, if we knew Elsa could help, if we knew the answers lied in Arendelle, we would have taken you there immediately!” the king concluded.

Joanna shook her head as she tried to digest her father's story.

“All those years alone,” Joanna muttered, “and all because you took that potion. You cursed me!” Joanna yelled, folding her arms and crying.

“We didn’t think it would harm you,” her mother answered. “We thought it was going to harm us. But that wouldn’t have mattered. If anything happened to your father, or if anything happened to me, that wouldn’t have been important. All we cared about was your safe arrival. You were our gift.”

“Really?” Joanna replied, surprised. “You were prepared to sacrifice yourselves for me? Was I really all that mattered to you?” she asked through her tears.

“Yes!” her father replied earnestly. “All we cared about was you. We wanted you more than anything else in the whole world. And when you arrived, we were so, so happy.” he said as he held her hand with both of his.

“And you brought us so much joy, sweetheart!” her mother insisted. “I remember hugging you, tickling you, wrapping you up in a towel and blowing raspberries on your tummy. You brought light into our lives, it was magical!”

”Oh…” Joanna softly exclaimed as she looked up at her father and tried to smile again. This time, the smile stayed there.

“And now that you don’t have your powers,” her mother said, taking her other hand, “we can catch up. You have your whole life ahead of you. We can create more wonderful memories!”

Joanna turned to her mother and looked into her eyes. The smile stayed on her face.

“Do you think you can forgive us Joanna?” her father asked. “Will you come back with us? We can put all of this behind us. Make a fresh start.”

Joanna looked her father in the eyes. “There’s nothing I want more in the whole world.”

On hearing her words, Joanna’s parents leaned forwards and hugged her. Joanna flung her arms around both of them and shut her eyes. They held onto each other tightly. They were finally a family.

Anna and Elsa stood by the door watching as Kristoff stood behind them. Anna rested her head on Elsa’s shoulder and they held hands. Still holding her parents tightly, Joanna opened her eyes and smiled at them. Anna and Elsa both smiled back, and tears of happiness welled up in their eyes. They felt privileged to see such a joyous reunion.

“I told you it could be beautiful,” Kristoff whispered to Anna, who quietly nodded.

Once the embrace was over, the king got up and turned to ask Anna a question.

“Thank you so much for bringing her home, “ he said as he wiped away a tear. “Would you like to join us in the castle for some refreshments? I’m afraid it’s not in the best of states, but it’s the least we can do, given what you’ve done for our family.”

“Of course!” Anna replied enthusiastically. “We have a lot to talk about!”

Joanna got up out of her chair and ran towards the door. She opened her arms and threw them around Anna and Elsa.

“Thank you,” she said as she held on tight. “Thank you for bringing me home!”

“Our pleasure!” Elsa replied softly.

Everyone from the two royal families got up and prepared to leave the ship, ready to go to Rizucia castle. A crowd of a few hundred were still mingling outside, now even more curious as they knew the King and Queen were on board. 

Anna and Elsa baulked when they reached the gangway and saw the crowd.

“Woah,” Kristoff said. “Big crowd!”

“Indeed,” the king began to explain. “Yours is the first foreign ship to dock here for sixteen years! We’d best get to the carriage as fast as we can!”

They all made their way across the gangway, and the guards moved out of the way to let them past. Joanna stepped out. Stig, who had pushed his way to the front of the crowd, got a good look at her. His mouth dropped to the floor. He pointed at her and began to shout.

“It...it’s her!” he shouted while stammering and pointing. “I’d recognise those eyes anywhere! She forced me to sail my boat away from here! She must have burned our kingdom!”

A disgruntled murmur went through the crowd.

“Get behind us!” a soldier commanded the royal party.

“Get her!” someone shouted.

The two royal families were trapped against the ship. The soldiers got in front of them and thrust out their lances. The angry crowd was inching ever closer.

“Dad! I’m scared!” said Joanna as the king held her.


	21. Trapped

Someone in the crowd at the docks of Rizucia had recognised Joanna as the girl who burned the kingdom. The crowd was moving towards her. The soldiers moved around the royal families and held up their lances. Without hesitation, Elsa cast a thick wall of ice between themselves and the crowd. It was at least nine feet high.

The soldiers guarding the king and queen stood aghast. One of them tapped the ice with his finger, convincing himself that it was real. The crowd were stunned by Elsa’s magic. They’d never seen anything like it before. Some ran. Others weren’t put off, and they started to chip away at the ice with whatever they could find. 

“What sorcery is this?” the king asked. “So, Elsa can remove curses and conjure ice from nowhere? Incredible!” he enthused.

Anna knew there was no time to marvel. “Now what do we do?” she asked Elsa.

“I’ll talk to them,” the king declared. “Afterall, they are my people, I will explain and they will understand.”

Elsa made an ice staircase so that the king could reach the top of the ice. He climbed up the stairs and looked out over the crowd. They gasped.

“It’s the king!” someone shouted.

“Sire! You’re in danger!” someone else called.

“Get them out of there!” came another call.

The crowd chiselled away at the ice with increased urgency. The king tried to calm them down.

“My friends, please! Everything is fine,” he tried to reassure them. “Please leave us be!”

“We have to free you sire!” someone cried out.

“Please, we are fine,” the king continued. “The girl...she is not…”

The king trailed off as he couldn’t find the words to say. The crowd grew noisier and more agitated as they tried to free their king from the ice. He went back down the steps. Joanna looked at him with fear in her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” the king said with his head bowed. “I couldn’t think of what to say to them. I couldn’t tell them about Joanna. They don’t even know we have a child!”

Elsa quickly turned to Anna. “You need to talk to them,” she said. “They’ll respond to the Queen of Arendelle!”

Anna thought for a moment about what she was going to say. “Okay, I’m ready,” she said, determined. She went up the icy stairs to address the crowd.

A chink appeared in the ice as one of the Rizucians managed to break through. Elsa flinched then used her powers to repair the hole.

“Anna!” Elsa called. “We don’t have much time!”

“Give us the girl!” someone shouted. “She destroyed our kingdom! You need to get out of there and leave her to us!”

Anna appealed for calm. “Please, let me speak!”

The crowd slowly calmed down to hear what Anna had to say.

“Er, hi everyone,” Anna said nervously with a little wave. “I am Queen Anna of Arendelle.”

The crowd started to mutter. The fact that they were in the presence of a foreign queen shocked and surprised them.

Anna continued her speech. “Yes, the young girl with us is the one who attacked your kingdom. She attacked ours too.”

The crowd became restless again. “Monster!” came a cry.

“But,” Anna continued, raising her voice, “she was cursed!”

The crowd fell silent. “Cursed?” someone asked. “What do you mean?”

Anna had to think on her feet. She couldn’t let them know that Joanna was really their princess.

“She was cursed at birth with dark magic,” Anna continued. “My sister Elsa, who knows more about magic than anyone, found out how to break the curse. The girl with us now is not the same girl who burned down our kingdoms. She is not a threat anymore. If she was, we wouldn’t be here. She needs help. Rizucia is her home. If your king decides that she needs to be punished, then I’m sure she will be. Justice will be done.”

Anna held her hands to her heart and leaned forwards, imploring the Rizucians to leave them be. The crowd talked amongst themselves, and many started to back away.

“Now please, let us pass!” Anna insisted.

The crowd continued to back away, and Elsa slowly made the imposing wall of ice disappear. The soldiers escorted them to the waiting carriage, where they all just about fitted in. The carriage began its journey to the castle.

“Phew, that was close!” Kristoff exclaimed as he put his hand on Anna’s knee. “We’re safe thanks to you. You handled that like a true queen!” he said to her.

Along the way Joanna looked out of the window and saw several houses that had burned to the ground. She turned and looked up at her mother.

“I want to make this right!” she said earnestly.

“All in good time sweetheart,” her mother replied as she held her hand. “All in good time.”

The carriage made its way to the imposing gates of Rizucia castle. The guards saw the carriage approaching, and began to open the gates. Once they were open, the carriage went through and into the castle courtyard. The guards didn’t hesitate in closing the gates as quickly as possible.

Joanna noticed people in the far corner of the courtyard still cleaning up after the fire. She bit her bottom lip and swung her arms a little as she felt the urge to go and help them. Anna, Elsa and Kristoff looked around to take in their surroundings. The king took his handler to one side for a moment before joining everyone else.

“You are in luck!” the king bellowed. “The recovery from the fire is going well, and the castle kitchen is stocked with the finest food and drink our kingdom has to offer. With many of my personal favourites, I might add! We may have been closed off, but we are self sufficient in all manner of culinary delights! But first, how about a walk around the courtyard?”

“Certainly!” Anna said. “I think we could all do with a short walk to calm down after all that excitement!” she said as she smiled. They slowly made their way around the recently tidied courtyard while the king told them all about the history of the castle. Joanna listened attentively too, she knew that she had a lot to learn.

Once they had made their way around the courtyard, they were invited into the castle itself. The staff tried not to stare as they all made their way in. The king led them through the main castle corridor and into the dining room, where they found a butler finishing off laying the table. He finished his work and slinked away.

They all took their places. The king and queen sat on one side of the table and Joanna slid in between them. Elsa, Anna and Kristoff sat on the other side. Elsa smiled at Joanna who looked at both of her parents then smiled right back.

“I can’t tell you how happy we are to have Joanna back,” the king told them. “Thank you so much!”

“It’s been our pleasure!” Anna replied. “It has been an eventful few days…” she admitted.

“How on earth did Joanna get to Arendelle?” the king sputtered.

“I can tell you Dad,” Joanna said as she put her hand on his arm. “After I did what I did here, I got a man to take me out to sea. He told me that Arendelle was the closest kingdom. I arrived in a place called Northuldra a couple of days after we left.”

“And that man is the one who recognised you at the docks?” the king asked Joanna, who nodded quickly.

“Hmmm, we shall have to do something about him,” the king said sternly. “But that can wait. I hope you didn’t do too much damage in Arendelle!”

Elsa, Anna and Kristoff looked at each other awkwardly, not sure if they should say anything.

“Well, actually Dad,” Joanna said nervously while she held her arm and looked away. “After I reached the forest of Northuldra I set fire to a lot of trees…”

“Well, trees are one thing!” the king scoffed. Then, Joanna continued.

“After I burned the trees, I went south to Arendelle,” Joanna said as she looked her father in the eye. “There, I...I did some bad things…” she stuttered.

“Oh dear,” the king said somberly. “Such as…” he said while rolling his hand in front of him.

Joanna was about to answer, but Anna interrupted.

“Your Majesty, before you judge your daughter too harshly,” Anna said consolingly, “there’s something you need to know. We all understand what she was like with her powers and how different she is now, and we’ve all forgiven her.” Elsa and Kristoff nodded in agreement.

“Well, Dad,” Joanna continued as she looked down. “I arrived in Arendelle on the day of Anna and Kristoff’s wedding,” she said as her voice started to tremble.

“I was awful. I set fire to the town and ruined the wedding,” she said as she looked down despondently.

“You burned Arendelle too?” the king boomed. “Joanna!”

“I said I’m sorry!” Joanna shouted back, starting to get upset.

“Now, now you two!” the Queen of Rizucia said softly as she leaned across Joanna. “We all know what Joanna used to be capable of. Fresh start, remember?”

The king grunted and sighed while he stroked his beard. “Yes, fresh start…” he huffed.

“We’ve been through so much,” said Anna. ”Arendelle will recover, the damage wasn’t as bad as it was here, thanks to my sister Elsa,” Anna said as she gestured towards her.

“Ah, thanks to the magical ice powers I presume?” the king asked, to which Elsa nodded. “Small mercies I suppose. Please let me know if there is anything Rizucia can do to assist Arendelle,” the king said in a conciliatory tone.

“Of course we will,” Anna assured him.

“But I must admit I’m curious,” the king admitted as he narrowed his eyes and leaned forwards, “how did Joanna lose her powers?”

“Oh that’s a long story!” Elsa said. Just then the food arrived.

“Ah, you can tell us as we eat!” the king declared. “Oh, I do hope this is to your liking. This is my absolute favourite. Cured salmon from the lakes of Northern Rizucia. Delicious!”

Everyone except Elsa began to eat. Joanna ate hers with relish. Elsa continued to tell the story of how Joanna lost her powers.

“Joanna found out about a magical river of ice called Ahtohallan,” Elsa began to explain. “That river contains all memories and the answers to the past. She found out about the potion there.”

The king and queen shuffled awkwardly in their seats as Joanna glared at them.

“I found her there, and she fell into a room in Ahtohallan called the Chamber of Emptiness,” Elsa continued. “That’s a special part of Ahtohallan where no magic can exist. It was there where she lost her powers,” Elsa said before tasting the salmon.

Joanna smiled at Elsa and gave a little nod, happy that Elsa had spared her parents the details of the story.

“Well, we’re so glad everything worked out for the best, aren’t we sweetheart?” the queen said as she looked at Joanna, who had her mouth full of salmon. Joanna nodded and held her napkin up over her lips.

The queen laughed a little. “We shall have to teach you some manners!” she giggled. “After all, certain things are expected of a princess!!”

“All in good time!” Elsa concurred as she politely left half of her salmon. Kristoff had already polished his off. A butler came in and took the plates.

“That salmon was lovely!” Anna declared. “I’m sure it would be very popular in Arendelle!”

“Ah, but the best is yet to come!” the king said proudly. “And it would go very well with a drop of wine.”

The king snapped his fingers and a butler walked over, impeccably holding his hands behind his back.

“Fetch a bottle of the vintage Malbec from my private reserve, would you?” the king asked the butler. “Only the best for our guests!”

The butler bowed and went to fetch the wine.

“Ah, I do hope you’ll like this wine!” the king enthused. “For generations the vineyards in the south have given exceptional vintages!”

“I must say Your Majesty,” Anna smiled. “You are quite the salesman! Will you be opening Rizucia up to trade now that Joanna is back?”

“Well I think that’s a foregone conclusion, don’t you?” the king joked as a beaming smile came across his face. “Yes, I must admit I’m looking forward to getting out there again. I shall love to trade with Arendelle. Your textiles are exquisite. In fact, I still have an Arendellian winter cloak in my wardrobe, but it’s seen better days. I should very much like to purchase a new one…”

“I’m sure we can work something out!” said Anna. Just then, a butler arrived with the wine.

“Ah!” the king said as he rubbed his hands together. “Now, I’m sure we all know how to appreciate wine!” he said as the butler poured a little into everyone’s glasses. He only left out Joanna.

“Now, cup the wine with your hand and get a good sniff of it!” the king instructed. “Really get your nose in there!”

Everyone did as they were told. Anna and Elsa smiled at each other nervously.

“Mmm, hasn’t it got a wonderful bouquet!” the king enthused as he wafted his hand towards his nose. “Now, we taste! Just get a little sip, then roll it around your mouth so you can really appreciate it!”

Joanna sat back in her chair, folded her arms and looked at her nails. “Is he always like this with guests?” she whispered to her mother.

“He misses an audience!” her mother whispered back. “He used to love telling foreign guests how good our food and wine is!”

While Joanna and her mother whispered to each other, the three Arendillians were trying to appreciate the wine. Anna and Elsa weren’t quite sure what to say, but Kristoff piped up.

“Yes, excellent!” he enthused. “Full bodied with good tannins, very nice!”

“Indeed it is!” the king replied, happily surprised. “I see you know your wine, sir!”

Kristoff nodded towards the king as the food arrived.

“And what better to go with our finest red wine but our best steak!” the king beamed as he rubbed his hands together again. “This is our prime fillet, served with sauteed potatoes and mixed vegetables. Tuck in everyone!”

The king continued to talk trade, while everyone else sampled the food. Joanna didn’t much care for the steak, but she loved the sauteed potatoes and was devouring them.

While the king continued his lecture about how great Rizucian cows were, Anna leaned over and whispered to Kristoff.

“Where did ‘full bodied with good tannins’ come from? I didn’t know you knew anything about wine!” Anna said to Kristoff.

“I don’t,” Kristoff admitted as he whispered back. “I did some reading while I was preparing to be a prince. I read a book that said if in doubt about red wine, say that it’s ‘full bodied with good tannins’,” he whispered to Anna.

“Do you even know what that means?” Anna asked.

“No idea!” Kristoff replied. Anna tried to stop herself from giggling. “I thought a tannin was someone who makes leather!” he confessed.

“That’s definitely more your thing!” Anna replied as she gave Kristoff a wink.

While the king continued his animated speech about trade, Joanna finished her potatoes. Noticing that her father was distracted, she carefully picked up her fork and moved it towards his plate. She surreptitiously stabbed a few of his potatoes and stuffed them in her mouth. Anna and Elsa noticed and put their hands to their mouths, giggling at Joanna’s antics.

The king noticed their laughter and stopped his speech. “What?” he said, noticing that Anna and Elsa were both looking at Joanna. “What did she do?” he asked as he turned to face her.

Joanna was chewing, and she rolled her eyes back and looked around, as if butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. The king looked down and saw that some of his potatoes were gone.

“Did she just pinch some of my potatoes?” the king smiled. Anna and Elsa gently giggled and nodded.

“Well, looks like I need to keep my eye on her!” the king declared as he put his arm around Joanna and laughed. Joanna finished her mouthful and laughed along with him.

“Sorry dad!” she laughed. “They’re just so delicious!”

“Well, never mind! I suppose I need to cut down on the fried food anyway…” the king admitted.

They all finished their main courses and continued their conversation.

“Your Majesty,” Elsa asked the king. “Do you know what yourself and Joanna will do next?”

“What will you tell your people?” Anna added.

The king sighed. “I haven’t thought that far ahead…” the king confessed.

“I want people to know the truth about me,” Joanna declared as she looked downwards. “I don’t want to live a lie all my life. I need to face up to what I’ve done.”

“Joanna,” Elsa said firmly while looking at her, “you saw what happened at the docks. You can’t just tell everyone what you did. You know what they’ll do!”

“I think we need time to decide what we’re going to do,” the queen chimed in. “After all, we’ve got time now, we don’t need to rush things. We can do that catching up, can’t we sweetheart?” she asked Joanna.

Joanna looked at her mother, gave a slight smile and gently nodded.

“I think that’s a very sensible suggestion,” Elsa said sagely as she nodded her head in Joanna’s direction.

“I remember when I was made to appear in public before I was ready,” Elsa said slightly forlornly. Anna reached across and held her hand. “Everything will be so much sweeter if you wait until you feel comfortable with who you are!”

Everyone agreed, and quietly nodded at Joanna. Then, the next course arrived at the table.

“Ah speaking of sweet,” the king piped up. “here comes dessert! It’s another course we’ve got our wonderful cows to thank for. It’s creme brûlée!”

“Oh, excellent!” Anna enthused. “My favourite!”

Joanna picked up her spoon and tried to scoop through the hard caramel top. She turned to her mother.

“How do you eat it?” she whispered. “I can’t get my spoon through the top of it!”

“You tap it,” her mother told her. “Like this!”

The queen picked up her spoon and gently tapped the top of her creme brûlée so that she made a small dent in the caramel. Joanna opened her eyes wide and smiled.

“That is a satisfying sound!” she said excitedly. “Let me try!”

Joanna hit hers quite hard and the spoon went right through the caramel, through the custard and onto the bottom of the dish, making a fairly loud noise. Joanna looked up, slightly embarrassed. Everyone else looked at Joanna and one by one they tapped the tops of their desserts. Joanna smiled at the satisfying noise they all made.

“Make sure you get some caramel and some custard on your spoon at the same time,” the queen told her. “It tastes best that way!”

Joanna did as she was told, and took a bite. Her eyes lit up as she sampled it. “This is amazing!” she exclaimed while her mouth was still full.

“It’s good to see someone enjoying their food!” said Kristoff.

“Everything has been delicious!” Anna concurred.

“Thank you so much!” the king smiled. “It’s been wonderful to have foreign guests in the castle again!”

“Well, when we get back we must organise a trade envoy,” Anna said to Kristoff, who looked slightly bewildered. Anna turned to the king. “Our kingdoms have a lot to offer each other!”

“They certainly do!” the king agreed. “By the way,” he said almost slyly, “you’re the first to know that Rizucia is open for business. You’re first in the queue!” he declared as he winked.

“I’ll keep that in mind!” Anna giggled. “Well, what a wonderful meal!” she declared.

“Amazing!” Kristoff agreed.

“Delicious!” Elsa nodded.

“Well, thank you for everything but we must be getting back to Arendelle now,” Anna solemnly declared.

“Yes of course,” the King replied, “want to get working on trade, eh? I’ll arrange a carriage to take you back to your ship.”

Everyone went down to the front door of the castle where a carriage was waiting in the courtyard.

“Thank you so much again,” the queen said. “You’ve done so much for us and our kingdom. If there’s anything we can do for Arendelle, please let us know!”

“We will!” Elsa smiled.

Anna took a step towards Joanna and looked a little sheepish. She had one more thing she wanted to do before she left.

“Actually, before we go, Kristoff and I have something we’d like to give to you,” Anna said to Joanna. She handed her a small envelope.

“Really, you don’t have to do anything else for me, you’ve been so kind!” Joanna insisted. “What is it?” she asked, curiously looking at the envelope.

“Open it!” Anna said playfully as Joanna began to carefully open the envelope. “We both know you’ve had a very tough life, and we wanted to, well, give you something to look forward to,” she said happily.

Joanna finished opening the envelope and read the card inside. She immediately raised her hand to her mouth in shock and gave the card to her parents, who eagerly read it.

Joanna was so happy she couldn’t say anything, so she just ran towards Anna with her arms outstretched. Anna met her and they shared a huge hug.

“I...I don’t know what to say!” Joanna said through happy tears.

“Just promise me one thing,” Anna replied gently. “When we see you again, I want to hear about all the good things you’ve done, okay?”

Joanna nodded and hugged Anna again before turning to Kristoff. 

Kristoff and Joanna didn’t know what to say to each other, they just smiled awkwardly before Kristoff gave her one of his bear hugs. “See you soon,” he said gently. Joanna just smiled and nodded.

Joanna had saved her biggest hug of all for Elsa. She threw her arms around her and held on tight.

“Thank you,” Joanna said softly. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay you…”

Elsa took Joanna by the hands and smiled at her.

“Before we go, I’ve got something I’d like to give you too,” Elsa told her.

“Oh, you really don’t have to,” Joanna insisted, “I already feel so spoilt!”

Elsa let go of Joanna’s hands. With a wave of her fingers she crafted a statuette out of ice. She then cast her permafrost magic over it so that it wouldn’t melt. Joanna held her hands to her heart when she realised what it depicted. It showed Elsa holding Joanna when they were back on the ship, the first time that Joanna truly felt at peace. Elsa handed it to her.

“It’s beautiful!” Joanna said as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Thank you Elsa!”

“Here’s what I want you to do,” said Elsa while looking into Joanna’s eyes. “Take this and keep it somewhere safe. Whenever you feel that you’re alone, look at it and remember that there is someone who knows what you went through, that there is someone who understands.”

Joanna looked at the statuette and held onto it tightly. Finding it hard to speak, she just looked up and nodded at Elsa.

“You heard what my sister said,” Elsa said gently. “All you have to do is your best to make things right. And I know you can.”

Joanna looked up at Elsa, nodded, softly smiled then gave Elsa another hug. Elsa, Anna and Kristoff then made their way to the waiting carriage while Joanna went back to stand with her parents.

“Goodbye!” Anna called as she got into the carriage. “See you soon!”

As the carriage set off towards the harbour, Anna, Kristoff and Elsa waved for as long as they could. As Joanna and her parents waved back, the king and queen each put a hand on Joanna’s shoulder.

Once they were out of the castle courtyard, Anna sat down and sighed happily.

“Well Elsa, you were right about her. She did need our help,” Anna said contentedly. “And seeing that family reunited has made this all worthwhile.”

Elsa just sat there and smiled at Anna. She knew that she had been right all along.

“I can’t wait to get back to Arendelle!” Anna said playfully as she grabbed Kristoff by the arm. “We’ve got another wedding to plan!”


	22. Return of the Princess

Joanna and the King and Queen of Rizucia stood at the steps of the castle while they waved away Anna, Elsa and Kristoff’s carriage. For the first time, the king and queen were alone with their daughter who was no longer burdened with her fiery curse.

“Dad, what do we do now?” Joanna asked as she looked at him.

“We take things one step at a time,” he sighed. “Elsa was right, we need to think carefully about how we announce you to the kingdom. When the time is right, the people will learn that they have a wonderful, charming young princess,” he said as he stroked her face. Joanna smiled and looked into her father's eyes.

“But first,” the king declared, “your mother and I need to go to the town square. I have an announcement to make!”

The king went to find his handler and gave him some instructions. Immediately, a makeshift platform was constructed in the town square. The townspeople gathered around it, curious at the new activity.

The king and queen waited for the royal carriage to arrive in the courtyard. As they got in, they left Joanna at the castle.

“Won’t be long!” the king bellowed as the carriage pulled away.

Joanna went into the castle and looked around. Once again, she could see the damage she had caused, the walls were scorched and there were gaps where paintings should have been. This time, she did not feel the despondency that she had felt before. She found a chair, sat down and sighed, knowing that things were bad now but they would soon get better. She had her parents. Everything would follow on from that. She thought about how she could make things up to the people of Rizucia.

Meanwhile, the royal carriage made its way to the town square, escorted by a few soldiers. It arrived at the platform, and the king and queen got out, accompanied by their handler. An excited murmur went through the crowd, and everyone anticipated a speech from the king. The king and queen confidently strode onto the platform, their handler standing next to them. He cleared his throat.

“King Sigurd of Rizucia!” the handler declared. The crowd fell silent. He approached the top of the platform with the queen by his side.

“My friends, good day to you all!” the king bellowed. “I expect you’re all wondering why an Arendellian ship was docked here earlier?” he asked everyone rhetorically. A slight mumble went through the crowd.

“Well, as you know, for sixteen years this country has been closed off. Why? At this moment, I cannot say,” the king boomed as he looked down a little. He quickly raised his head back up again. “But, Queen Anna of Arendelle and her wonderful sister Elsa have been able to rid us of the...curse that has befallen this land.”

The king paused. The crowd muttered to each other. Stig was amongst the crowd. “Cursed?” he said to himself. “I didn’t know we were cursed. What does that mean?”

“However,” the king continued, “thanks to Elsa of Arendelle, the country can be opened up again!” he shouted as he raised his arms and pumped his fists.

The crowd couldn’t believe it. They smiled at their king and talked amongst themselves in astonishment.

“Yes, you heard me right!” the king assured the crowd. “Carpenters, set to work on building a new fleet of cargo ships! Merchants, go out and get all of your goods together! We’re going to trade with the world!”

A huge cheer went up from the crowd. They couldn’t wait to get to work, but the king had one more thing to say.

“As I speak, Queen Anna is heading back to Arendelle, where I’m sure she will instruct Arendelle’s traders to sail to our shores,” the king continued. “In a few days, you will be able to buy all manner of Arendellian goods! We are no longer closed off! Onwards Rizucia!” he shouted as he raised his fist in the air.

The crowd cheered again, and they threw out a chant of “Long live the king!”

The king and queen made their way back to their carriage and returned to the castle.

“Ah, wonderful to give the people some good news for a change!” the king told the queen as the carriage made its way through the streets of the town. “Now, with any luck we’ll be trading with everyone in a few weeks. By then the people will be so happy that they won’t mind hearing about Joanna!”

“Sounds like a plan!” the queen enthused. “Now, if we’re going to present her I need to get her ready!”

“Why certainly!” the king replied. “Take all the time you need!”

When the king and queen returned to the castle, Joanna was waiting for them. She smiled as she ran to them and gave them a hug.

“Hello!” she said to them. “What have you been doing?” she asked as she looked up at her father.

The king put his arm around the queen. “We’ve just told everyone that the country is open!” he told Joanna as he smiled. “Everyone is so excited! Hopefully trade will make people happy, then we’ll be able to tell them anything. We’ll be able to tell them about you!”

Joanna smiled. “Oh, I do hope that will work!” she enthused. “But I’ve been thinking. There are some things I’d like to give to the people when I finally get to see them. Can we get them from Arendelle?” she asked.

“I suppose so,” the king said as he shrugged his shoulders. “But why don’t we talk about that another time?” he suggested. “How about we relax for now?” he asked.

Joanna nodded and smiled at her parents. “Anna and Elsa taught me how to play some card games, do we have a deck?” she asked.

“Card games?” the king exclaimed. “What a marvellous idea!” He walked over to a cupboard and quickly found what he was looking for. They all sat down at a table.

“Now then, what shall we play?” the king asked as he shuffled the deck.

“How about we start with Snap?” Joanna suggested as she laughed a little.

“Oh alright,” the queen said. “One game of Snap, but maybe something more sophisticated after that?”

“Oh, okay!” Joanna replied, as the newly-united family settled down to an evening of card games.

A few days passed. Rizucia fast became a hive of activity. Lumberjacks hacked away in the forests to get wood to make a new fleet of ships. Carpenters eagerly constructed the ships at the docks. And all the while, the repairs to the buildings in the town continued. Then one day, a fleet of Arendellian ships appeared over the horizon. They docked, and around a dozen traders got out and set up their stalls. Amongst them was Oaken, an enormous, ginger-haired man who had an established business in Arendelle.

“Yoo hoo! Rizucians!” he cooed to the gathering crowds as he gave them a little wave. “Come and buy your Arendellian goods here! We have cloaks, cuckoo clocks, remedies, and personal saunas! All of the best quality ja?”

The Rizucians eagerly mingled around all the Arendellian stores, marvelling at everything they had to sell. They were all doing a brisk trade, especially Oaken. In amongst the fervent activity came the royal carriage.

“Make way for the king!” an accompanying soldier shouted. The carriage stopped and the king emerged. The king took in a lungful of bracing sea air.

“Ah, trade has returned to these shores!” he declared. With his guards, he stepped up to Oaken’s stall.

“Arendellian traders, welcome to Rizucia!” he boomed with his arms out.

“Your Majesty!” Oaken called as he jogged over from behind his stall. He bowed to the king. “My queen has told me to give you something special ja?”

“Oh, I can’t wait to see!” the king said as he rubbed his hands together. Oaken trotted back behind his stall and retrieved a beautiful winter cloak. He held it up for the king to see, then passed it to him.

“Oh, it’s exquisite!” the king exclaimed. “I absolutely love it. What a wonderful piece of craftsmanship!” The king then sidled up to Oaken to ask him a delicate question. “How much do I owe you for it?” he asked.

“Nothing, it is a gift from the queen,” Oaken confirmed.

“My, how generous the Arendellians are!” the king said to Oaken. “Oh, but take this for yourself will you?” he said as he handed Oaken a small pouch of money.

“Thanking you!” Oaken cooed in reply.

While the king was at the docks, Joanna and her mother were back at the castle. They were in the drawing room, and Joanna’s mother was trying to train her to be a proper princess. Joanna was struggling with the exercise her mother had devised.

“Tell me again, why do I have to balance this book on my head?” she asked as the book fell to the floor once more.

“It’s for your deportment, sweetheart!” her mother enthused. “The book will help you with your balance!”

“But this one is too heavy!” Joanna complained. “Can’t we use a different one?”

“I suppose we could,” her mother mused. “Let’s go to the library. Follow me!”

Joanna’s mother briskly walked to the library with a smile on her face. Joanna struggled to keep up.

“The library?” she asked. “Wasn’t everything in it destroyed in the...you know...incident?”

“I’ve had it restocked with books from all over the kingdom!” her mother replied. “And I have something special to show you. Come on, we’re nearly there!”

As they went into the library, Joanna gasped with astonishment. The brand new shelves were indeed stocked with plenty of books.

“Wow!” Joanna exclaimed. “I can see myself spending a lot of time here!”

“There’s a very special shelf I want to show you!” the queen said. She led Joanna round the corner to a small shelf hidden away from the main aisle. Joanna was shocked when she saw what it was. She raised her hands to her mouth.

The small shelf contained about two dozen books, and pinned to it was a hastily-handwritten label that simply read “Joanna’s books”.

“I used to notice what you liked to read,” the queen admitted. “I knew that if you didn’t burn a book straightaway, that meant you liked it. I’ve been saving copies over the years, hoping that one day you’d be able to read them again.”

Joanna excitedly looked over the books. “Aurora Borealis, Norse Mythology, my favourites are all here!” Joanna exclaimed. “Even Baby’s First Alphabet! Aw, I remember reading that from when I was little!”

Looking up at her mother, tears formed in Joanna’s eyes. She had come to realise something.

“So…” Joanna said as her voice trembled, “through all that time I was in the tower...you really did care about me?”

“I always have, sweetheart,” her mother said softly. She opened her arms and they embraced.

After that, Joanna excitedly thumbed through her books.

“Oh look!” she exclaimed. “Aurora borealis! Fire dancing in the sky! Isn’t it magical?” she said as she pointed to the pictures.

Her mother nodded and smiled. Joanna picked up the book on Norse mythology and began to skim through it.

“And look, all of the Norse gods!” she enthused. “I remember you teaching me about these!”

Her mother laughed a little and sidled up to Joanna to look through the book with her.

“Yes,” Joanna said as she skimmed through the pages. “There’s Loki. I remember him, so mischievous! And Thor, look at him with his hammer!”

Joanna turned the page and her face quickly went from excited elation to despondency. 

“And there’s...oh…” she said as she snapped the book shut.

“What is it?” he mother asked. “Are you okay?”

“It’s just...nothing…” Joanna said as she looked up at her mother and tried to smile.

“No sweetheart, what’s the matter?” her mother said as she opened the book again. “Why did you close the book when you got to Freya? You can tell me!”

Joanna shuffled awkwardly and ran her fingertips through her hair.

“Well, okay, I’ll tell you,” she said hesitantly. “When I first got to Arendelle, I told everyone my name was Freya,” Joanna said softly. “I thought her name suited me much better than my own.”

Her mother put her arm around her. “Thank you for telling me sweetheart,” she said as she gently closed the book. “We both know those days are behind you, don’t we?”

Joanna quickly nodded.

“We don’t have to read about Freya for now,” her mother assured her. “Now, let’s find a book that’s the right size for you to balance on your head!” she smiled.

Together, they found a book that was just right for Joanna to practice her deportment. They went back to the drawing room to continue her exercises. After a while, Joanna got much better at balancing the book on her head.

“Right then,” the queen declared, “your deportment is much better! Now for your posture. Where’s that broomstick got to?”

Joanna groaned at the thought of doing more exercises, but after a time, she soon got the hang of it. Before long, she knew how to carry herself off as a true princess.

Two weeks later, the gates of Rizucia castle were opened. The people walked in, curious to find out why. Word got out that the king was about to make a speech from the balcony and everyone gathered round it.

Stig was amongst the crowd, and he and his friends used the opportunity to show off what they had bought from foreign traders to each other.

“Look what I got from that Arendellian merchant!” Stig declared as he held up a small cuckoo clock. He wound it forwards so that the mechanism was activated and the cuckoo sprung out.

“Ha! How delightful!” his friend enthused. “Hey! What do you all think of this?” he said as he produced a small parcel. He unwrapped the paper, revealing a lump of cheese. “I bought it from a French trader. Get a good whiff of it!” he said as he wafted it under his friend’s noses.

“That stinks!” another friend said as he held his nose. “I hope you didn’t pay too much for that!”

“Ah, it may smell,” the friend explained, “but it tastes incredible!”

“Well I bought something even more exotic!” the other friend declared. “All the way from South America, these are purple potatoes!” he said as he took a few of them out of his pocket.

“Neat!” Stig exclaimed. “What do they taste like?”

“Oh, I don’t dare eat them!” the friend admitted. “They were so expensive, they’re just for show!”

“Oh,” Stig exclaimed, sounding confused.

Eventually, the King of Rizucia appeared at the balcony with the queen standing next to him. Everyone cheered, eager to hear what we had to say.

“My friends,” the king bellowed across the courtyard. “Thank you for being here today. As you all know, several weeks ago a great tragedy befell our kingdom. I’d like to thank everyone who has helped with the repairs following the Great Fire, and I am eternally grateful that no one was hurt.”

The king paused for a moment. The crowd could see that he was sincere in his words.

“But now, onto happier news!” the king boomed as a smile came across his face. “Sixteen years ago, the castle gates were closed. I can now proclaim that the gates will remain permanently open!”

The crowd clapped and cheered, happy to hear some more good news as they stood in the castle courtyard that still bore the marks of the Great Fire. Once the applause died down, the king continued his speech.

“And now my friends,” the king continued, ”I would like to tell you why they were closed to begin with. Sixteen years ago, the queen and I were blessed with a child.”

The crowd gasped at this revelation.

“A child!” Stig exclaimed as he turned to his friends. “How did we not know that?”

“But our joy was short lived,” the king continued, taking a more somber tone. “The child was cursed with dark magic. Fiery...magic.”

“Oh, here we go!” Stig said to his friends as he folded his arms. “We should have guessed!”

“We did the only thing we could to protect both the child and the kingdom,” the king said, looking down at the crowd. “The gates were shut and the country closed off. We did our best to look after the child on our own. For sixteen years, she was our sole burden.”

The king closed his eyes and looked down, trying to convey the fact that the country’s isolation was not out of choice. He sighed.

“As the child grew, her powers became stronger. A few weeks ago, they became too strong for us to contain. That’s when she...attacked the kingdom,” he said solemnly as he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

The crowd gasped and began to mutter between themselves. The king raised his arm and the crowd fell silent again.

“Since then, we had a chance encounter with the wonderful Queen Anna of Arendelle,” the king said as a smile came across his face. “Her sister Elsa knew how to strip the curse from our daughter. She is no longer who she once was. We have been lucky enough to spend some time with her. Without the curse, she is the sweetest, kindest, most wonderful daughter we could ever have wished for.”

The king paused. He took out his handkerchief and dabbed away a tear. All eyes were on him.

“And now, I can happily say that she is here today. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, our daughter, Princess Joanna of Rizucia!”

Standing in the crowd, Stig was sceptical.

“So we’re going to meet the girl who burned down our kingdom are we?” he said to his friend as he folded his arms once more. “The girl who forced me to sail to Arendelle? Yeah right! When the crowd sees her, they’re going to...oh my!”

There was a collective gasp as the people caught sight of Joanna. Stig was so shocked that he let go of his cuckoo clock, and it shattered on the floor. The people were stunned by Joanna’s beauty. She was adorned in a flowing, sophisticated yellow dress, and she wore a necklace containing a magnificent emerald. Great care had been taken to put her hair up in a braid, and she wore a simple yet elegant tiara. She was completely unrecognisable from the girl who stepped off Queen Anna’s ship all those weeks ago. She smiled nervously and gently waved to the crowd before gracefully gliding over to her father.

“And now, Princess Joanna would like to say a few words,” the king declared.

The crowd stared at Joanna, some with their jaws on the floor. They were struggling to take everything in. The king and queen had a daughter. Her curse meant the country had to be closed off. Mere weeks ago, she attacked the castle and the town. Now, she stood before them all looking like a true princess. There was so much for everyone to process.

Joanna stepped forwards and cleared her throat. She looked down at the crowd and saw everyone looking up at her. “Good day to you all,” she said clearly and eloquently. “At a time like this, it is difficult to know what to say. Yes, I was born cursed. Yes, I was locked away in the castle all my life, and yes, I attacked the kingdom,” she said as she raised her hand over her top lip.

The crowd were still stunned. Some were beginning to judge her.

“But,” Joanna continued, “without my curse, I see everything differently. Before, I saw no hope for myself, and no future. Now, I know I can help put things right. I know I can do good. I know I can serve each and every one of you as your princess. So please, I am not asking for forgiveness. All I am asking for is a chance to show you all who I really am. Thank you.”

As she finished speaking, Joanna impeccably placed her hands in front of her and smiled nervously at her mother. The crowd remained silent. Then, a lone man began to applaud. The person standing next to him applauded, and soon a ripple of applause spread throughout the crowd. A few people even started to cheer. Joanna smiled and began to wave. Her parents took a stride forward and her father put his arm around her. The king and queen waved to the crowd as well.

In the crowd, Stig was also gently applauding. He turned to his friend.

“Well, I’ll give her a chance,” he said. “I can’t believe that’s the same girl who threatened me with fire, but it kind of makes sense, I guess.”

The king was ready to conclude his speech. “My friends, thank you again for being here today. Let us write a new chapter in our country’s history together. Onwards Rizucia!” the king shouted as he triumphantly raised his fist in the air. 

The crowd responded with a cheer and people began to chant “Long live the king!” The royal family waved to everyone from the balcony for a few minutes before going back inside, arm in arm.

In the days that followed, the royal family prepared for some public engagements. The king hosted a banquet for the lords and ladies of Rizucia, which Joanna was present at. All were impressed by her grace, table manners and ability to hold a conversation.

A few days later, Joanna was sitting reading in the drawing room. A handler came up to her with a message.

“Excuse me Your Highness,” he said. “The shipment you requested from Arendelle has arrived.”

“Thank you!” Joanna enthused as she shut her book and leapt to her feet. She went to find her father.

“Dad,” she said. “The things I wanted from Arendelle are here. I think I’m ready to go out into the town and meet the people,” she said as she smiled nervously at him.

“Very well,” the king declared as he put his hand on her shoulder. “I will arrange it as soon as I can.”

Word went out in the town that the Princess wanted to meet people who had suffered in the Great Fire. People came forward to the castle staff, and they arranged who the Princess would meet. The staff took their plans to the castle and told the king.

Joanna and the king stood by the front door of the castle. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” the king asked.

“No dad,” Joanna said as she looked at him and shook her head. “This is something I need to do myself.”

The king nodded and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. “And I know you can,” he said as he smiled at her.

Later, Joanna emerged from the castle with an escort of soldiers, staff, and a horse drawn cart following behind her. The top of the cart was covered with a tarpaulin, so its contents remained a mystery.

As Joanna walked through the charred streets, the mood was sombre. Joanna held her hands in front of her while people in the streets had their heads bowed. A frown came across Joanna’s face as she confronted what she had done. She wanted to cry, but she swallowed hard and tried to be strong.

One man couldn’t contain his anger. He was filled with anxiety as Joanna approached. When she walked past, he took his chance.

“Monster!” the man shouted as he pointed. “She burned down our town!”

The rest of the crowd gasped. A soldier thrust his lance in the man's direction. Joanna put her hand on the lance and pushed it down. “No, please, it’s okay,” she said to the soldier. She turned to the man.

“I know I was a monster,” she said solemnly. “I know what I did. But please, I’m not who I once was. I want to make things right. Please, just give me a chance,” she implored as she put her hand on her chest.

The man relaxed his shoulders, then nodded. Joanna awkwardly smiled back at him, then continued walking.

People gathered round as Joanna reached her first destination. “Your Highness, this is Mr and Mrs Jansen. Their bakery was destroyed in the fire,” her handler gently announced.

Mr and Mrs Jansen stood there politely with their young daughter who was staring at the ground. For a few seconds, Joanna stood awkwardly, trying to think of the right words to say. Instead, Mrs Jansen spoke.

“You look wonderful, Your Highness,” she said softly.

“Th-thank you,” Joanna stuttered as she ran her fingers through her hair. “I’m deeply sorry for what happened to your bakery…”

Mr Jansen sighed. “I’m sure we can rebuild,” he said. “Thank you for coming to meet us, it means a lot.”

“It’s the least I could do,” Joanna said nervously as she held her hands out. She turned her attention to their child. “What is your daughter's name?” she asked.

“She’s called Petra,” Mrs Jansen said through a slight smile. Joanna squatted down so that her eyes were level with Petra’s. Petra looked up at her with a face like thunder.

“Are you okay, Petra?” Joanna asked with a slight smile. Petra shook her head.

“Aw, I’m sorry,” Joanna said softly. “Did you lose a lot in the fire?”

Petra looked down and nodded. “I lost all my toys,” she said forlornly. “And I lost my favourite dolly,” she said as she started to cry.

Joanna looked at the ground and sighed. She then looked up at Petra and smiled. “I’ve got something for you,” Joanna said as she stood up. She went to the cart, lifted up the tarpaulin, rummaged around and took something out. Before Petra could see it, Joanna put it behind her back.

Joanna walked back towards Petra and squatted down in front of her. “This is for you!” Joanna exclaimed as she took her hand out from behind her back and presented Petra with a brand new doll.

Petra’s face lit up. She looked up at her mother who gestured towards Joanna. Petra looked at the doll, walked forwards and took it from Joanna. She hugged it, then looked up at Joanna and said thank you.

“Would you like a hug as well?” Joanna asked her. Petra nodded, and she hugged Joanna while holding the doll in her hand.

People in the crowd wiped away tears as they looked down at Joanna hugging Petra. Once the hug was over, Petra went back to her parents.

“What a beautiful doll!” her mother said to her. “Does she have a name?” she asked.

“Her name is Joanna,” Petra said while looking at the doll’s eyes.

Joanna felt a warmth in her heart, and clutched her hands to it. Everyone else looked on, gently smiling at her.

“Thank you!” Mrs Jansen mouthed to Joanna, who nodded back, trying to hold back tears.

Joanna’s handler gently walked up to her. “Your Highness, next is Mr and Mrs Nedergaard. They lost their house.”

Joanna tried to compose herself. She quickly nodded at her handler while running her fingers through her hair. She turned to the Nedergaard family, whose three children stood in front of them.

“Your Highness, that was a very kind thing you just did,” said Mr Nedergaard.

“I just wanted to give something back,” Joanna said weakly as she held her hands out and shrugged her shoulders.

“You certainly have,” Mr Nedergaard declared as he softly smiled. “It means a lot to us. To all of us, doesn’t it?” he asked as he looked around at the crowd. Everyone nodded in agreement.

Joanna gushed. “You’re all so kind…” she whispered as she tried to hold herself together. She looked at the cart, then walked over to it. She beckoned the Nedergaard children over.

“And what would you all like?” she asked them, bending over slightly.

“Toy soldiers!” the eldest son said excitedly.

“A skipping rope!” the daughter yelled.

“Marbles!” the youngest son said while jumping up and down.

“Let’s see what I’ve got!” Joanna said as she rummaged under the tarpaulin. She quickly found the toys she was looking for and handed them to the Nedergaard children.

“Thank you Princess Joanna!” they all said as they ran back to their parents with beaming smiles, eager to show off their new toys.

Joanna looked around, and could see many children expectedly looking at the cart with wide eyes. She smiled at them as an idea came to her.

“Oh, what does it matter!” she exclaimed as she whisked the tarpaulin off the cart, revealing dozens of brand new toys. “Help yourselves everyone!”

The children present ran towards the cart and each one of them took out a toy, until there was nothing left. They went out and started playing, and soon the streets were filled with the sounds of joyous laughter. Joanna let out a contented sigh as she witnessed the happy scene.

“Thank you Princess Joanna!” Mrs Nedergaard said as she walked up to her. “I think we’ve all seen how kind you really are. It’s hard to believe you’re the same person who did all this,” she said as she gestured towards all the fire damaged buildings.

Joanna looked out over the street and started to see the charred buildings differently. Her despondency went away, and a look of steely determination came across her face. She knew what she needed to do.

“There’s still so much to be done,” said Joanna as she wiped away her tears. “I want to help, but I can’t do it alone!” she exclaimed as she began to climb on top of the cart. She had a speech prepared, and she knew exactly what she was going to say.

“Today, I am founding the Royal Volunteer Society!” she called as the people listened intently to her. “With your help, we will restore this town. We will make it as good as new!”

The crowd murmured excitedly as Joanna gave her speech. 

“Who will join me?” she called. “Who will step forward to help me rebuild our town?”

“I will!” shouted Mr Nedergaard.

“And me!” called Mr Jansen.

“Me too!” said Mrs Jansen.

Soon, dozens of people had raised their hands and come forward. The royal handlers took their details. Joanna hopped off the cart and walked to the people with a spring in her step.

“I must return to the castle now,” she declared, “but I will be back soon, and we will rebuild. Together, we will make our kingdom even stronger than before. As my father would say, onwards Rizucia!” she called as she raised her fist in the air.

The crowd cheered. They began to chant “Long live Princess Joanna” as she made her way back to the castle.

The King and Queen were waiting for Joanna at the castle gates. Joanna looked at them with a sweet smile.

“Well, how did it go?” the queen asked. She could see tears in Joanna’s eyes. “Oh, come here sweetheart!” she said as she held her arms out. Joanna fell into them.

“Everyone was so kind,” Joanna said through her happy tears. “And I’ll never forget the looks on the faces of the children when I gave them their presents!”

“Well done Joanna!” the king said as he placed his hand on her shoulder. “I can tell everything is going to be alright from now on.”

Joanna turned to her father and smiled. “Yes dad,” she said softly. “I think it will!”

After they finished hugging, Joanna looked up at her mother.

“I’d like to write a letter to Elsa,” she said gently. “I want to tell her about everything that’s happened. Can you help me with my writing?” she asked her mother.

“Of course I can sweetheart!” her mother said as she placed her hand on Joanna’s cheek. “I think that’s a wonderful idea. I’m sure Elsa will love to hear about what you’ve been up to. Come with me!”

In the weeks and months that followed, Joanna made good on her promise to help put things right. Through the Royal Volunteer Society, she helped clean up and rebuild what the fires had destroyed. She made a lot of friends through it, and everyone in the kingdom was impressed with how hands on Princess Joanna was.

By the time winter arrived, Rizucia was in much better shape. The castle had been cleaned up and almost restored to its former glory, while in the town only a few gaps remained in the streets. Winter arrived, and the royal family looked forward to the holiday season. The king announced that this one would be very special, and he told everyone to gather in the castle courtyard. Rizucian winters could be chilly, and Arendellian cloaks were the order of the day. The king wore his with pride.

“My friends, it’s that time of year!” he boomed from the balcony to the expectant crowd below. “And what a year it’s been! Our Arendellian friends have sent us a very generous gift. Please, bring it in!” he called to the castle gates.

Through the gates came a sparkling new Arendellian yule bell. Workers wheeled it in and installed it in the castle. The royal family made their way down to the courtyard and prepared to ring the bell, each of them placing a hand on the rope.

“Let this be our new holiday tradition!” the king cried. “This bell represents the new found friendship between the kingdoms of Arendelle and Rizucia. Now, let us ring in the season together!”

All at once, the king, queen and Joanna tugged on the rope at the same time, and the peel of the bell rang out across the courtyard and the town. The crowd applauded, and the royal family waved to them.

Spring saw Joanna’s seventeenth birthday. The king was keen to make up for all the birthdays that she had missed, so he threw a huge party that all of her friends were invited to. As Joanna sat at the head of the table in the courtyard, she truly felt like a princess. The table stretched out across the courtyard with dozens of people sitting on either side, and it was laden with all manner of party food. The king and queen stood next to Joanna.

“Thank you so much for all of this, it’s amazing!” she said to her father. “I feel so spoiled!”

“Well, we’ve got one more surprise for you,” the king told her. “We’ve arranged for a very special guest to visit!”

Joanna beamed as she guessed who it could be.

“They’ve just arrived. Look over at the gate and you’ll see them!” her mother enthused.

Joanna looked and saw a woman with long blond hair wearing a flowing white dress. She knew that it could only be one person. Joanna shot up out of her chair and ran towards the gates.

“Elsa!” Joanna cried as she held out her arms.

“Happy birthday!” Elsa calmly replied as she opened her arms out. Joanna ran up to her and grabbed her round the waist. Elsa hugged Joanna while Joanna held her tightly.

“It’s so good of you to be here!” Joanna said as her voice was muffled by the hug. She let Elsa go and the two of them walked back towards the table.

“I don’t need to ask you how you are, do I?” Elsa joked. “I can see it in your face. You look so happy!”

“I’ve still got you to thank for all this!” Joanna enthused. “I have a life now! Everything is going so well. And I’m lucky to be able to call all these people my friends!” she said as she gestured towards the table. The people looked up from their food and happily waved at Joanna and Elsa.

“Ah yes, the Royal Volunteer Society!” said Elsa. “I’ve read all about them in your letters. I love receiving them by the way, you won’t stop writing will you?” Elsa said as she winked at Joanna.

“No, I love writing letters!” Joanna replied.

“Well that’s good to hear!” Elsa enthused. She and Joanna walked back to the head of the table.

“Elsa!” the king boomed.

“Your Majesty!” she politely replied.

“Wonderful to see you again!” the king said as he gave her a gentle hug. He put his arm around her and turned to the guests.

“Everyone, this is Elsa of Arendelle!” he declared.

The guests turned to face Elsa with smiles on their faces. They remembered the king's words from when they first saw Joanna, and whispered to each other in anticipation.

“Yes, Elsa is the one who took away Joanna’s curse!” the king boomed as Elsa smiled nervously and gave a little wave. “Her mastery of icy magic is quite breathtaking!” He turned to Elsa and spoke gently. “Would we be lucky enough to have a demonstration, perhaps?” he asked, quickly nodding his head.

Elsa giggled. “Okay, seeing as it's Joanna’s big day!” she smiled. As Elsa walked towards two large, ornate fountains, she cast her magic and turned the water into two beautiful ice statues. The guests gasped in astonishment. Elsa returned to the king and whispered something in his ear.

“Oh yes, of course!” he replied. “Let’s all wish Joanna a happy birthday!”

“Happy birthday Joanna!” everyone said in unison.

“This is from everyone in Arendelle!” Elsa said to Joanna as a huge, five-tiered ice cream cake was wheeled in.

“Wow! That’s so kind!” Joanna enthused.

A butler cut the cake up and everyone had a slice.

“Now, who’s ready to skate?” Elsa asked. The guests looked at each other in confusion. With a stomp of her foot, Elsa covered the courtyard in a thick layer of ice. To everyone’s delight, she then made ice skates appear on the feet of each one of the guests. They got up and began to skate.

Joanna struggled to keep herself steady, so Elsa went over and helped her. They glided through the courtyard together.

Joanna looked into Elsa’s eyes and smiled. “Best birthday ever!” she declared.

The future looked bright for Rizucia. The castle gates, like the country, were open. Trade helped the country prosper. The king and queen were seen regularly, addressing the people from the castle balcony. As each day passed, Princess Joanna became ever more popular with the people. One evening, the royal family were playing cards. Joanna laid her cards on the table.

“And I believe that means I’ve won!” she politely declared.

“Indeed you have!” the king concurred. “Well done Joanna!” 

“Well done sweetheart!” the queen added. “You certainly know how to win with grace!”

“Another game?” Joanna asked.

“Actually,” the king said awkwardly, “your mother and I have something we need to talk to you about.”

“Oh?” Joanna exclaimed.

“Yes, and this isn’t easy,” he mother said, “but it needs to be said.”

Joanna’s face suddenly became deadly serious.

“There comes a time,” the king said sombrely, “when every monarch has to seriously consider...succession.”

“Oh,” Joanna said, realising how important this was.

“Your mother and I, we won’t be around forever,” the king admitted. “We wanted to tell you that we’ve been very impressed with you. We know you’ve worked hard at everything a princess needs to do, but more than that, the way you run your Royal Volunteer Society has shown us something very important. You’re a natural leader.”

Joanna smiled slightly and nodded at her father.

“We need you to know this,” her father said seriously. “You’re ready to be queen.”

Joanna raised her hand to her mouth. They all got up and hugged.

“Thank you,” Joanna said as her voice quivered. “I just hope I won’t have to be queen for some time…”

“I know one thing,” the king said softly. “The future of our kingdom is in safe hands.”


	23. Another Big Day

Once Elsa, Anna and Kristoff arrived back in Arendelle, they set to work repairing the kingdom, and it was soon restored to how it was before. After a few months, there were barely any reminders of the fire at all, except the lack of stained glass windows in the chapel.

Elsa went back to live with the Northuldra, but her visits to Arendelle became much more frequent. She made sure to visit at least once a week. She spent most of her time in the forests, tending to the parts of it that had been destroyed in the fire. Before long, the forest was well on the way to recovery.

By the next summer word had gotten out around the world that the Fire Queen had been stopped, and guests from far and wide were happy to accept invitations to Anna and Kristoff’s rearranged wedding. Once again, the anticipation for it built up in Arendelle.

When the eve of the wedding arrived, everything was just as it was before. Kristoff had a party with the trolls, and Anna and Elsa had a party in the castle. On the day of the wedding, everyone filed into the chapel. Once again, Anna walked into the chapel on Elsa’s arm, the train of her wedding dress held up by Arendellian children. This time, Olaf was as good as gold, holding a basket of confetti as he happily walked behind Anna. She joined Kristoff at the altar.

The bishop stood at the altar while Anna and Kristoff looked into each other’s eyes. Ryder and Sven waited next to them with the rings. The bishop began the ceremony.

“Now, where was I?” he joked. Everyone in the congregation chuckled.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he began, “we are once again here today to join Kristoff Bjorgman and Queen Anna of Arendelle in marriage. On this joyous day, Arendelle welcomes royalty from all over the world to join us in celebration. Thank you all for being here with us.”

The bishop paused, and a satisfied murmur came from the crowd. “Now, the usual formality,” the bishop said with a slight smile. “If anyone knows any lawful reason why the bride and groom should not be married, let them speak now or forever hold their peace.”

There was silence from the congregation. Anna smirked and gave a knowing glance to someone in the front row.

“So be it!” the bishop declared. There was a sigh of relief from some. Kristoff almost laughed. Anna and Kristoff steadied themselves and prepared to take their vows.

The bishop began to read them. “Do you, Kristoff Bjorgman, take Queen Anna of Arendelle, to be your lawfully wedded wife, promising to love and to cherish her, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?”

Kristoff took a deep breath and smiled. “I do,” he declared.

The bishop turned to Anna. “And do you, Queen Anna of Arendelle, take Kristoff Bjorgman, to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do,” said Anna as her voice raised slightly.

Ryder knew that was his cue to present the rings. He walked to Sven and took the box from his mouth, then took the rings out and placed them on a satin cushion. He took the cushion and held it in front of Anna and Kristoff.

“Now, Kristoff,” the bishop continued, “take the ring and place it on Anna’s finger, and repeat after me: ‘With this ring, I thee wed’.”

“With this ring, I thee wed,” Kristoff proclaimed as he delicately placed the ring on Anna’s finger. The bishop turned to Anna.

“Anna,” the bishop said gently, “take the other ring and place it on Kristoff’s finger, and repeat after me: ‘With this ring, I thee wed’.”

Anna was shaking as she tried to hold back tears. She managed to place the right on Kristoff’s finger. “With this ring...I thee wed,” she said softly.

“Then by the power vested in me, I proclaim you man and wife,” the bishop concluded. He turned to Kristoff. “You may kiss the bride.”

Anna and Kristoff held each other and kissed. Elsa looked on and applauded with a huge smile on her face. 

They had done it. They had finally done it. After all the heartache and effort, they were married. The congregation applauded them, then rose to their feet. In the front row, one young lady applauded louder than anyone else. Flanked by her parents and smiling as a tear rolled down her cheek, was Princess Joanna of Rizucia.

Anna and Kristoff walked out of the chapel hand in hand. The invited guests, including Olaf, threw confetti as they made their way down the chapel steps. Squeezing each other’s hands tightly, they walked to the castle gates. The order was given, and the gates began to open.

Outside, the excitement amongst the crowd reached fever pitch. “Oh, we finally get to see them!” a woman enthused.

As the gates were almost fully opened, Anna and Kristoff waited. “Ready?” Anna said to Kristoff.

“I’m ready,” he replied softly as he raised her hand. “Let’s do this. Together.”

“Together,” Anna said while looking into his eyes.

“Queen Anna of Arendelle and Prince Kristoff of Arendelle!” Kai bellowed as he announced him.

The crowd went wild. The cheering and applauding was almost deafening as Anna and Kristoff walked out of the gates. They raised their free hands to wave to everyone while holding on tightly to each other.

“Our queen! Her prince!” a young woman exclaimed to her boyfriend while continuing to applaud them. “Isn’t it romantic?” she asked him. He just nodded as he carried on clapping for them.

“Kiss!” came a call from the crowd. Anna chuckled a little.

“Shall we give them what they want?” Anna asked Kristoff. “After all, it’s their big day too!”

“Why not?” he replied before he bent down and kissed her. The crowd cheered even louder.

After a few more minutes waving, Anna and Kristoff went back into the castle and the gates were closed behind them. The crowd dispersed and went away happy that the queen had welcomed the love of her life into her family. After that, the town was filled with street parties as the people of Arendelle celebrated their momentous day.

Back at the castle, Anna and Kristoff went back to the courtyard to talk to Olaf, Elsa and Sven.

“Now, are you sure you won’t stay for the reception, Olaf?” Anna asked him as she giggled.

“Oh, no thank you,” Olaf replied. “I need to get out of these clothes!”

“How do you think I feel?” Kristoff jokingly complained. “This is my life now!” he declared as he held his lapel.

“Don’t worry honey,” Anna said as she ruffled his hair. “You’ll be back in leather before you know it!”

“And besides, I shall be the official representative of Queen Anna at the street parties!” Olaf said snootily. “They are much more my scene!” he quipped.

“Okay boys, have fun!” Anna called as Olaf toddled away.

“You too buddy!” Kristoff said to Sven. “I’m sure there will be lots of carrots there!”

Sven huffed contentedly then trotted after Olaf.

Meanwhile, the invited guests filed in through the main door for the wedding reception. Soldiers stood either side, stoically looking forwards with hands on their lances. Joanna recognised one of them and became alarmed, hiding behind her father so that she wouldn’t be seen.

“What’s the matter?” he father asked.

“Let’s just get inside,” Joanna whispered. “I’ll tell you later.”

Once inside, the guests were directed to the grand dining room. Everyone was presented with a glass of champagne, and butlers glided from guest to guest to offer them canapes. The dignitaries from all over the world happily mingled with each other, but the wedding wasn’t the only topic of conversation. Across the room from Joanna, a French ambassador was talking to his Irish counterpart.

“Tell me mon amis, do you know what happened to the girl who attacked Arendelle?” the French ambassador asked.

“Oh, I heard that the former queen Elsa battled her in a far off land, and froze her to death!” the Irish ambassador answered with relish. “What have you heard?”

“I heard that she was turned to stone, and she is now at the bottom of the ocean!” the Frenchman replied.

“Quite the idea!” the Irishman smiled. “Still, she’s gone now, that’s the main thing. And what a wonderful day!”

“Indeed!” the French ambassador concurred. “Santé!” he said as he and his Irish friend clinked their glasses.

Meanwhile, Anna and Elsa had found Joanna and her family. Joanna was looking resplendent in a new dress. Her hair was neatly done, and her posture and deportment were excellent.

“What a wonderful ceremony!” Joanna exclaimed as she lightly clapped her hands. “Thank you so much for inviting us!”

“Our pleasure!” Anna replied. “I’ll never forget the look on your face when we gave you that wedding invite back in Rizucia!” she said as she giggled. “Now, can you tell us what we want to hear? Have you done good things since we last saw you?”

The King of Rizucia piped up. “Done good things? Done good things?” he boomed. “Princess Joanna is the pride of Rizucia!” he said as he proudly put his arm around Joanna’s shoulders.

“Dad!” she exclaimed, sounding a little embarrassed. Anna and Elsa let out a giggle. The king put his arms down while Joanna put her gloved hands in front of her, and went back to standing bolt upright.

“Oh, everyone in the kingdom is thrilled to have her as their princess,” the queen said. “She founded a society to help clean up the kingdom, she has lots of friends, and the foreign dignitaries who come to trade with us absolutely love her!”

“That’s wonderful to hear!” Anna exclaimed. “We’re so proud of you, aren’t we Elsa?”

“We certainly are!” Elsa said softly as she tilted her head slightly and looked at Joanna.

Joanna took a step towards Elsa.

“Elsa, can I talk to you for a second? Alone?” Joanna asked.

“Er, sure,” Elsa replied slightly nervously. “Excuse us, everyone.”

Joanna took Elsa to the side while Anna continued to talk to the King and Queen of Rizucia.

“What is it?” Elsa whispered.

“There’s a guard on the front door,” Joanna replied anxiously. “I know him from somewhere. From...when I was in prison,” she whispered.

“Oh,” Elsa replied as her eyes widened and she moved closer to Joanna. “What happened?”

“He was guarding me,” Joanna replied, nervously gritting her teeth, “and I kind of...seduced him and punched him in the face.”

“What?” Elsa said softly, almost laughing with surprise at Joanna’s revelation.

“He was so kind to me,” Joanna said forlornly. “He was telling me all about his childhood and all the fun things that children do in Arendelle. He was so sweet. And I tricked him so that I could escape!”

Elsa thought for a second. She knew that Joanna wanted to at least say sorry to him, but that just wasn’t possible. She adopted her serious tone.

“Does he know that you’re here?” Elsa asked.

“No,” Joanna replied while shaking her head. “He probably wouldn’t even recognise me, I look so different now.”

“Good, we need to keep it that way,” Elsa replied sternly. “I know everyone in Rizucia knows who you are, but the same can’t be said for everyone else. Remember, this is Anna’s day. If he knew who you were, he’d tell General Mattias, then we will all have some serious questions to answer. I’m sorry but you cannot talk to him. You just need to let this go.”

“Oh, okay, I understand,” Joanna said while clutching her hands to her chest and frowning.

“Now, let’s go back to the party shall we?” Elsa said, trying to be upbeat. “I want to hear more about your good deeds!”

Meanwhile, the guests were circulating, and the French ambassador had made his way over to the King of Rizucia.

“Ah, Your Majesty! The King of Rizucia, so wonderful to meet you!” the French ambassador exclaimed as he bowed.

“Likewise!” the king replied.

“So, sixteen years,” the ambassador said calmly. “Such a long time for a country to be closed off. I trust you are now, uh, getting back on your feet?”

“Oh yes,” the king replied confidently. “We are welcoming trading partners from all over the world!”

“Formidable!” the French ambassador enthused. “And the Princess Joanna, she has recovered?” 

“Indeed,” the king replied. “It’s so wonderful to have her back. Terrible business that dark magic, terrible.”

“Mais oui,” the Frenchman replied. “But I must say, she looks familiar…”

The king tried to hide his shock. “How so?” he asked.

“The girl who set fire to everything,” the Frenchman replied while narrowing his eyes, “when she arrived to ruin the last wedding, she said she was the Queen of Rizucia.”

The king sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He then beckoned the ambassador closer.

“Look here,” he whispered sternly, “when Joanna was cursed, she attacked our kingdom. You know that don’t you?”

“Yes,” the ambassador said slowly.

“Well, after she attacked our kingdom, she made her way...to Arendelle,” the king whispered solemnly.

“Oh,” the ambassador replied as he raised his eyebrows.

“If she hadn’t of come here, then Elsa wouldn’t have been able to remove her curse,” the king added.

“And Queen Anna, she has forgiven her?” the ambassador enquired.

“If she hadn’t we wouldn’t be here, would we?” the king asked rhetorically.

“No, I suppose not…” the ambassador mused.

“So, everything is fine!” the king said as he stood upright. “But keep it under your hat, yes?” he said as he went back to whispering.

“Mais oui, mon amis!” the ambassador declared as he took a step backwards. “I will not tell a soul!” he said as he slinked away.

“I need a drink!” the king thought to himself. “Where’s that butler?” he thought as he shuffled away.

Meanwhile, Joanna was hiding behind a pillar with her mother, who had brought over a tray of canapes.

“I love being a princess,” Joanna said as she stuffed a canape in her mouth, “but this ‘princesses can’t be seen eating’ rule is so silly!”

“I know, I know,” her mother replied. “You must try the pate, it’s delicious!”

Just then, Joanna’s father appeared.

“Ah, I thought I might find you here!” he said quietly through a smile. “The old ‘hide and eat’ game eh? Oh, pate! Let’s have some of that!” he said as he swiped one of the canapes.

“Look, erm, I’ve got something you both need to know,” he told them.

“Oh?” the queen replied as she raised her eyebrows.

“Yes,” the king said. “I was put on the spot by that French fellow. He worked out that it was Joanna who attacked the last wedding…”

Joanna and her mother stared at each other in alarm, both their mouths stuffed with food.

“Well what on earth did you tell him?” the queen asked after swallowing her mouthful.

“I told him the truth,” the king admitted. “What else was I supposed to do?”

“Well, how did he react?” the queen asked.

“He seemed surprisingly understanding,” the king admitted.

“You mean, people know what I did now?” Joanna asked.

“Well he does,” the king said as he shrugged his shoulders. 

“Maybe it’s not so bad that people know what I did?” Joanna suggested. “Maybe it’s better if it’s out in the open?”

“Let’s not go that far,” the queen said. “Remember, this is Queen Anna’s day, we don’t want to cause trouble!” She looked up at the king. ”Anyway, thank you for telling us, I think we’ll be fine!” she concluded.

“Oh well, it’s back to the party for me!” the king declared.

“We’ll be there soon!” the queen replied. “Joanna, try a blini, they’re gorgeous!”

As Joanna ate and digested her father’s news, an idea came into her mind. “People know what I did...and it’s okay!” she thought to herself. She suddenly became very anxious and started to look towards the door.

“Joanna, what’s the matter?” her mother asked, concerned.

Joanna hesitantly stuttered. “It’s just that...I need to...excuse me!” she said to her mother as she headed towards the door.

Joanna left the reception and stood next to one of the soldiers. She smiled at him and opened her eyes wide. “H...hello Henrik...” she said nervously.

“I’m sorry, I’m not allowed to talk to guests,” Henrik said as he continued to look forward. “Wait, how do you know my name?” He turned his head slightly to look at Joanna. He saw her unmistakable green eyes and jumped backward slightly in alarm. He went to reach for his lance. 

“No, don’t,” Joanna told him as she put her hand out. “It’s okay, look at me! I’m a wedding guest!”

Henrik shouldered his lance and went back to looking forward, trying not to make a scene. “You give me one good reason why I shouldn’t call the general right now!” he said under his breath. “What have you got planned?”

“I haven’t got anything planned,” Joanna said as she shook her head. “I just wanted to thank you!”

“For letting you escape?” Henrik replied indignantly. “Yeah, thanks!” he sarcastically muttered.

“No, no,” Joanna insisted as she held her hands up. “You’ve only known me as Freya, but that’s when I was cursed. My real name is Joanna. You know Elsa right? Your queen’s sister? She freed me from my curse! Everyone knows what I did now!”

“Oh?” said Henrik, who had calmed down a little and was now listening attentively while still looking forwards.

“When you told me about your childhood you brought light into my world,” Joanna said softly. “All I’d known for years was isolation and anger. You were the first person to give me a glimpse of happiness. And I wanted to thank you for that.”

A single tear formed in Henrik’s eye as he listened. “I see,” he said. “Well, I did my best!”

Henrik continued to try and stand guard, but by now he had a smile on his face. “But listen, you need to go back in. I’m not supposed to talk to guests, I’ll get in trouble!” he insisted.

“Can I get you anything to say thank you?” Joanna asked. “I think they will be cutting the cake soon, how about I bring you a slice?”

Henrik thought with his stomach for a few seconds. “Oh go on then,” he said as he smiled and briefly nodded. “Just a sliver!”

Joanna gave Henrik a peck on the cheek then ran back inside.

“Please join us for the cutting of the cake!” Kai bellowed, which was met with a cheer.

Anna and Kristoff went to the huge, five story cake and together they picked up a knife and prepared to cut it. As they both pressed down on the bottom layer, the knife went through the cake and the guests gave them a warm round of applause. As they clapped, Kristoff put the tip of his finger in some icing then dobbed a little on Anna’s nose. She tried to look at it, went cross eyed and giggled. She reached up to give Kristoff a kiss, and as she did she picked up a handful of icing, and threw it right in Kristoff’s face, making everyone laugh. A slightly amused Kai handed Kristoff a napkin.

“Okay, who wants cake!” Anna called, still with some icing on the tip of her nose.

A butler started to cut up the cake and place slices of it onto plates. Joanna snuck into the queue and surreptitiously took a small piece. She skipped out of the reception and went back to the front door.

“Henrik, I got you some-” she started to say, when she looked up. To her dismay, Henrik had been replaced. A gruff, middle aged soldier stood in his place.

“Who are you?” Joanna asked despondently. “Where’s Henrik?”

“Henrik’s been taken off duty for talking to guests,” the soldier replied. “Now please, go back inside before I get in trouble too.”

Joanna looked crestfallen. She turned to the soldier who was on the other side of the door. “Snitch!” she yelled at him before running back inside.

Back at the reception, the first person Joanna bumped into was Elsa, who could tell she was upset.

“What’s wrong?” Elsa asked. “What are you doing with that cake?”

Joanna took a deep, unsteady breath and looked to the side. “I got Henrik in trouble,” Joanna admitted. “I...I just wanted to talk to him…”

“Who is Henrik?” Elsa asked, sounding confused.

“The guard on the door,” Joanna said as she looked up sheepishly at Elsa.

Elsa opened her eyes wide and brought her hand to her mouth. “I thought I told you to let it go?” Elsa said. “Why on earth did you talk to him? Did he recognise you?”

“Yes,” Joanna said, “but I thought it wouldn’t matter. My father has been telling people about what I did at the last wedding!”

Just then, the French ambassador approached them.

“Ah bonjour, Your Highness!” he beamed. “And the beautiful Princess of Rizucia! Enchanté! Such a wonderful day! And so good of you to forgive her after what happened at the last wedding, oui?”

Elsa leaned forwards towards the ambassador. “Yes, thank you,” she snipped. “But could you please leave us be? We have a very important matter to attend to!”

“Of course, Your Highness,” the ambassador said as he began to back away. “Excusez-Moi!”

With that, the ambassador bowed and moved on to another conversation.

“Oh,” Elsa exclaimed as she looked at the ambassador. “That wasn’t so bad. Maybe it’s okay if people know what you did after all?”

Joanna looked up at Elsa, held her arms out and smiled nervously.

“So,” Elsa said as she cleared her throat. “This ‘Henrik’, what happened to him?” she asked Joanna.

“He was guarding the door and I talked to him,” Joanna admitted. “He told me not to or I’d get him in trouble. Oh, I’m such a fool! I just wanted to give him a piece of cake to say thank you for how nice he was to me!”

“That’s it?” Elsa said. “He recognised you, you talked and you went to get him a piece of cake? Oh Joanna!” Elsa giggled as she put her hand on Joanna’s arm.

“I can’t promise you anything, but I’ll talk to General Mattias. I’ll explain it was a simple misunderstanding. Henrik will be fine!” Elsa assured her.

“Oh thank you!” Joanna said as she breathed a sigh of relief. “Do you think I’ll be able to see him again?”

“That might be difficult,” Elsa confessed. “Why? Do you want to?”

“Well, yes,” Joanna said as she hunched up and ran her fingers through her hair. “I...I like him,” she admitted as she blushed a little.

Elsa giggled. “Oh, I see! Then I’ll do my best! I promise!” she smiled.

“Thank you!” Joanna smiled back.

“Now then,” Elsa said with a sigh. “The reception is winding down. I trust I’ll see you at the dinner tonight?”

“Oh yes!” Joanna enthused. “I’m really looking forward to it! I’ve had the most amazing ball gown made for me!”

“I can’t wait to see it!” Elsa said softly. “See you this evening!”

With that, the King and Queen of Rizucia approached to take Joanna back to their ship. On board, Joanna and her mother prepared for the evening.

“Oh Joanna,” her mother enthused, “don’t you look incredible!” she said as Joanna picked up her dress and twirled.

“I feel like a real princess!” Joanna said happily. Then she paused and sighed. “I wish I had someone to dance with though…”

Meanwhile, Elsa went to find General Mattias. She found him talking to an officer in the castle courtyard.

“General Mattias!” Elsa called out.

“Your Highness!” he called back. The officer saluted him and went on his way. 

“How was the reception?” he asked. “I know there was one minor indiscretion, but apart from that, was security acceptable?”

“Actually, about that indiscretion,” Elsa calmly stated, “was it done by a young soldier with the first name Henrik?”

“Private Lustig?” Mattias inquired. “Why, yes it was. His card was already marked. Now he failed to uphold standards on some simple guard duty. I need to carefully consider his future…”

“Oh, please don’t,” Elsa insisted. “It wasn’t his fault. It was my friend Princess Joanna of Rizucia. She’s only seventeen, there weren’t any people her age at the reception. She was desperate for someone to talk to and she found him. She just wanted to bring him a piece of cake! Please don’t be so harsh on him!”

“Hmmm,” Mattias hummed. “I shall have to think about that. This is the military after all.”

“Actually general,” Elsa said seriously. “I have a favour to ask…”

Meanwhile, Kristoff was talking to Ryder on the other side of the courtyard.

“Okay buddy,” he said, sounding upbeat yet serious. “You know what you’re going to say in your speech, yes?”

Ryder couldn’t hide his nerves. “I know what I’m going to say, I just don’t know if I can say it!” he admitted. “It’s such an important role, and I don’t want to embarrass you in front of everyone!”

“You’ll be fine!” Kristoff said as he rubbed his shoulder. “And besides, embarrassing me is part of the deal!”

“I know, I know,” Ryder said. “Thanks for the pep talk, friend!”

The time arrived for the dinner, and the guests returned to the castle in their evening finery. They were escorted into the grand dining room, which had been lavishly decorated for the occasion. The guests sat eight to a round table, with Princess Joanna sitting between her parents. The Arendellian royal family sat on their own table at the front of the room. Anna and Kristoff sat on large, ornate chairs that resembled thrones.

The guests settled down to a four course dinner. The King of Rizucia was thrilled to see Rizucian beef on the menu. He turned to the dignitaries who were sitting beside him.

“Oh, I do hope you all enjoy the beef!” he enthused. “It’s become our country’s most popular export!”

Joanna turned to whisper to her mother. “He’s off again!” she smiled.

“Oh, let him talk!” the queen enthused. “It’s good for business!”

After the meal concluded, Kai stood next to Anna’s table to announce the after dinner speakers. He tapped a glass with a spoon to get everyone’s attention.

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen!” Kai bellowed. “Now, it is time for the after dinner speeches!” He turned to Elsa and raised his arm. “Elsa of Arendelle!” he announced.

There was a cacophony of shuffling as the guests turned their chairs to face the front of the room.

“Good evening everyone!” Elsa said calmly yet clearly as she got to her feet. “I know it’s tradition that the father of the bride speaks first at these events, but seeing as that’s not possible, we thought it would be best I fulfilled the role. After all, over these last few years I’ve done my best to look out for my little sister, as she faces the trials and tribulations of fulfilling her role of Queen of Arendelle,” she said as she turned to Anna. “Love you sis!” she playfully declared.

“Love you too!” Anna called back as she raised her glass. A little “ah” rose up from the crowd.

“At times like this, I always wonder what our mother and father would think of us,” Elsa continued. “I know they’d be proud. Why? Because we are being true to who we are. As you all know, my reign as queen was short, and it was fraught with danger. Since I abdicated, I have been able to fulfil my role as protector of the forests, living amongst the Northuldra, of whom we have a representative with us today,” she said as she gestured at Ryder. “I knew I would never regret my decision to allow Anna to become queen. Our kingdom has faced some trying times over the past few years, but Anna has been there to lead Arendelle through them with grace, passion and dignity. May her reign last for many years to come. Please join me in a toast,” she said to the guests as they stood up with their glasses in hand.

“Long live Queen Anna!” Elsa declared as she raised her glass.

As the guests repeated the toast and raised their glasses in turn, Anna blushed as the two sisters giggled at each other. The guests sat back down again.

“And what can you say about her husband Kristoff?” Elsa asked rhetorically. “That is, Prince Kristoff, as he is now of course! Well, since the tumultuous events of my own coronation, he’s been there for Anna, always by her side. He may come from, shall we say, a ‘humble’ background, but his days of ice harvesting are over! I know he will be impeccable in fulfilling his new duties as the Prince of Arendelle. Ladies and gentlemen, to Queen Anna and Prince Kristoff!” Elsa said as she raised her glass again.

“Queen Anna and Prince Kristoff!” the guests declared in unison as they raised their glasses.

Kai allowed the guests to settle before announcing the next speaker. “Prince Kristoff of Arendelle!” he declared.

“Wow, ‘Prince Kristoff’, I never thought anyone would call me that!” he laughed as he got up from his chair. A giggle went around the room.

“Um, wow, okay,” Kristoff said, flustered as he rubbed the back of his head with one hand. He looked down at Anna, who smiled to let him know that everything was okay.

“I mean, this is all beyond my wildest dreams,” he admitted as he held his arms out. “If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a child, a poor orphan boy who was struggling to keep up with some ice harvesters, and tell myself that one day I’d be marrying the amazing and beautiful Queen of Arendelle, I would not have believed myself.”

Kristoff looked around and furrowed his brow in confusion, trying to understand his own metaphor. He cast it from his mind and continued his speech.

“But anyway, as I stand here today, I have so much to be thankful for, and so many people to thank. There’s Elsa, who not only is a loving sister to Anna, but if it wasn’t for her our paths wouldn’t have crossed in the first place,” he said as he looked at Anna. Elsa rolled her eyes and smiled.

“I know this is going to sound silly but I need to mention my good buddy Sven. He’s always been there for me too. He couldn’t be at the dinner tonight because, well, he’s a reindeer!” Kristoff said as he smiled awkwardly. “Well, anyway, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone in Arendelle. Olaf, Kai, Gerda, everyone of the castle staff, and everyone in the kingdom. Ladies and gentlemen, to Arendelle!” Kristoff declared, raising his glass.

“To Arendelle!” everyone followed.

“And now,” Kristoff continued, “I want to talk about another place that’s special to me, and that’s Northuldra. It’s where my best man Ryder is from!” Kristoff said as he gestured towards Ryder, who responded with a nervous wave to the guests.

“On a trip there some time ago,” Kristoff continued, “we found out that Queen Iduna, Queen Anna’s mother, was in fact Northuldra. The marriage between her and King Agnarr meant that the people of Arendelle and Northuldra were connected by love. As an Arendellian myself, I hope I can continue that connection. Ladies and gentlemen, to Northuldra!”

Kristoff raised his glass again, and the guests joined him in a toast. After clearing his throat, Kristoff continued his speech.

“I’d like to thank our guests from all over the world for joining us today, but I’d like to give a special mention to Rizucia. They’ve been closed off for sixteen years, but they’re open again now, and they provided some delicious beef for the dinner. Wasn’t it great?” he asked as he looked around the room. People wholeheartedly concurred.

“Also, be sure to try the Rizucian wine. It’s full bodied with good tannins, am I right?” Kristoff said as he winked in the direction of the King of Rizucia. In return the king nodded, raised his glass and winked right back. Joanna giggled at both of them.

“So, before I finish and hand over to Ryder, I want to make a toast to all of you. To friends!” he declared.

“To friends!” the guests heartily responded.

Kristoff sat back down, turned to Anna and gave a sigh of relief. “You were great!” Anna said as the guests politely applauded. Once the applause died down, Kai prepared to announce the next speaker. Ryder looked at Kristoff and nervously showed his teeth.

“Ryder Nattura of Northuldra,” Kai bellowed.

“You’ll be fine buddy!” Kristoff whispered to him. Ryder got up and cleared his throat.

“Er, hi everyone!” he managed to say, his voice fraught with worry. He looked around at all the guests, then the room itself.

“Wow, this is so different to what I’m used to!” he said, trying to keep ahold of his nerves. “Yes, like Kristoff said, I’m from Northuldra. Oh boy, it’s not like here! It’s a land of forests, and reindeer, and magic. Back home, we respect the spirits of air, fire, water and earth.”

Ryder looked out amongst the guests and noticed that the guests were happily smiling at him. He began to feel more at ease.

“But the strongest spirit of all is the fifth spirit, a bridge between the spirits and ourselves. On one side there is Elsa, who lives with us in Northuldra. On the other is her sister Queen Anna. This bridge is so important to us, and I’d like to make a toast to it. To Elsa and Queen Anna!” Ryder declared as he tentatively lifted his glass.

“Elsa and Queen Anna!” everyone replied.

At the Rizucian table, the king was confused. He turned to Joanna after making the toast.

“What’s he talking about?” he asked.

“I’ll tell you later Dad!” Joanna whispered back to him.

Back at the front table, Ryder continued his speech.

“Now, I’ve been told that it’s tradition at Arendellian weddings for the best man to embarrass the groom with some stories,” Ryder said as he turned to Kristoff, who laughed nervously. “That seems kind of cruel to me, but I do have one story to tell you!”

“Oh no, what’s it going to be!” Anna whispered to Kristoff as an excited murmur filled the room. Ryder waited for it to die down.

“At heart, Kristoff is what I think you call a hopeless romantic,” Ryder said as he began his story. “Not long after we met in Northuldra, he told me that he was trying to propose to Anna. I told him that we had a special way for men to propose marriage, so I took him to a romantic clearing in the woods to prepare.”

Kristoff knew what was coming and he placed one hand over his face.

“Kristoff stood on a rock, circled by reindeer,” Ryder continued. “We thought we saw Anna approaching, so we let loose the butterflies, launched a bucket of sycamore seeds, and Kristoff started his proposal. By the time he’d finished it was too late. It wasn’t Anna at all, but Yelena, the village elder! You should have seen the look on her face!”

The guests began to laugh. Kristoff slumped across the table and held his head in his hands, embarrassed. “You never told me that!” Anna said.

Ryder allowed himself a chuckle before continuing. “But of course,” he said confidently, relieved that people were laughing at his story, “the story had a happy ending. For more than 30 years, our forest home was trapped in a thick mist, as the spirits were angered by a dam that was built to weaken the land. Queen Anna heroically destroyed the dam and freed the forest. After that, Kristoff proposed, Anna said yes, and here we are!” Ryder declared as he held out his arms.

A collective “Ah” emerged from the guests. Ryder gave a little sigh in relief.

“Well, I think I’ve done okay,” Ryder declared. “So I think I’ll finish up now. A toast to Queen Anna and Prince Kristoff!” he said loudly as he lifted his glass aloft.

“Queen Anna and Prince Kristoff!” the guests called back.

Ryder sat back down. “Good job buddy!” Kristoff whispered to Ryder as he patted him on the arm.

“Wow, I’m glad that’s over!” Ryder smiled.

Kai cleared his throat one more time. There was a final speaker to announce.

“Queen Anna of Arendelle!” Kai boomed. There was a ripple of applause from the guests as Anna rose to her feet.

“Thank you, everyone,” Anna said with a sweet smile on her face. “As you know, it’s not traditional for the bride to speak at her own wedding, but we are hardly what you would call a traditional family!” she said as she looked around at Elsa, Kristoff and Ryder. “And besides, I am the queen!” she chuckled with her arms outstretched. The guests giggled in reply.

“There is just one thing that I want to talk to you all about,” Anna continued, “and that’s love. It was love that united our parents, love that brought myself and Kristoff side by side, and love that will keep our family together. It has been a difficult year, but through love and understanding hearts have been healed, misdeeds have been forgiven, and enemies have become friends,” Anna said as she looked up at Joanna’s table and smiled. Joanna gushed as she wiped away a tear.

“And as I stand before you all here today, well…” Anna said as she paused for breath. “I couldn’t be happier! Everyone who I love is with me today, and I am looking forward to Kristoff and I enjoying a long and happy life together. So, that brings me to my one and only toast. Ladies and gentlemen, to love!” Anna declared.

The guests stood up and raised their glasses as they chanted “To love!” back at Anna. As she sat down, the guests gave her a warm round of applause.

Kai prepared to make an announcement. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he bellowed, “that concludes the speeches. If you would kindly make your way to the ballroom, the dancing will commence shortly!”

With that, the guests began to get up from their chairs as they chatted amongst themselves about the speeches. 

“So heartfelt, so honest, non?” the French ambassador asked his Irish friend. “How do you say, not a dry eye in the house?”

“Indeed,” his friend concurred. “Beautiful!”

Elsa went to find Joanna.

“I loved your speech!” Joanna told her as she smiled.

“Yes, very moving!” the king agreed.

“Aw, thank you!” Elsa replied as she tilted her head. “Joanna, can I talk to you?” she asked.

“Er, sure,” Joanna replied with uncertainty. Elsa took her hand and led her away from her parents and out of the room.

“Is everything okay?” Joanna asked as Elsa walked towards the front door of the castle.

“It’s fine!” Elsa declared. “There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

They reached the front door of the castle, and Elsa instructed the guards there to open the door. A young man stood on the steps wearing clearly borrowed formal wear and holding a small posy of flowers. Elsa gestured towards him.

“I present to you your plus one for the evening!” Elsa said as she smiled at Joanna, who turned to face the young man. A beaming smile came across her face.

“Henrik!” she cried as she picked up her dress and ran down the stairs towards him. He smiled at her, before Joanna threw his arms around him.

“Come on you two, inside!” Elsa said playfully.

Joanna took Henrik’s hand and led him into the castle. She stood next to Elsa and couldn’t contain her excitement. Elsa asked the guards to close the door.

“Henrik is here to represent the army,” Elsa told Joanna, “so he’s to be on his best behaviour!”

“Of course, Your Highness,” Henrik said as he bowed.

Just then, one of the guards on the door piped up. “How did you swing that then?” he muttered under his breath.

Elsa quickly turned and scowled at him. The guard snapped upright and carried on looking forwards as if nothing had happened.

“Come on, let’s get to the ball!” Elsa declared as she started walking down the hall. Joanna held on to Henrik’s arm as they both walked next to Elsa.

“What happened?” Joanna asked. “Is Henrik still in trouble?”

“No, he’s not in trouble!” Elsa smiled. “I found General Mattias and explained everything.”

Joanna gave Henrik’s arm a squeeze. “Oh thank you Elsa!” Joanna beamed. “Wait, Henrik, do you dance?” she asked, concerned.

“I certainly do,” Henrik smiled. “All Arendellian soldiers have to be able to dance, otherwise we’d embarrass ourselves at the regimental ball!”

Joanna squeezed his arm again. “Oh, I’m so happy I have a dance partner!” she squealed.

“We’d better introduce Henrik to your parents,” Elsa said to Joanna as they entered the ballroom. They soon found the King and Queen of Rizucia. The king caught sight of Joanna on Henrik’s arm and furrowed his brow in worry.

“Who’s this?” the king said loudly while addressing Joanna, who let go of Henrik before standing politely.

“Dad, this is Henrik,” Joanna declared. “He’s here to represent the Arendellian army!”

“Your Majesty!” Henrik said as he bowed.

“Is he now? Hmm,” the king hummed as he rubbed his chin.

Joanna could see how agitated her father was, so she quickly took him to one side. While they were away, Henrik bowed to the queen.

“Joanna, what on earth are you doing on the arm of an Arendellian soldier?” the king whispered angrily.

“Dad please,” Joanna insisted. “I owe him something nice. When I was in Arendelle for the first time, they threw water on me and put me in prison. He was guarding me. I tricked him and, well,” Joanna said before she pursed her lips and rolled her eyes, unsure of what to say next.

“I punched him in the face,” Joanna whispered. “I knocked him out so that I could escape. He must have gotten in trouble.”

“Oh, I see,” the king said, slowly nodding. “Well, alright, just for this evening!”

“Thanks Dad,” Joanna said before giving him a peck on the cheek. They both walked back to Henrik.

“Soldier eh?” the king snarled at Henrik. “I know your sort! You’re only after one thing!” he said as he wagged his finger.

“Dad!” Joanna said. “Stop it! You’re embarrassing me!”

The king backed off a little and sighed.

“Alright,” he said as he lowered his hands. “Just this one evening. But I’ve got my eye on you!”

There was an awkward pause while Joanna and Henrik looked at each other.

“The dancing will start soon,” Elsa softly declared. “I think you two need to get ready!” she said before Joanna and Henrik turned to the dance floor. The Queen of Rizucia ran to them while the king sat down.

“Don’t mind your father,” the queen said after catching up with Joanna and Henrik. “He’s just not used to seeing you with such a handsome young man! He’s just trying to be protective, I’ll go and talk to him,” the queen said as she nodded. Joanna and Henrik both nodded back.

Anna and Kristoff prepared for their first dance while the musicians began to play a waltz. The guests stood at the edge of the dance floor eagerly awaiting the newly wed royal couple. They stepped out, and gracefully glided across the dance floor in time to the music.

“My, you have been practicing!” Anna exclaimed. “I never thought someone with feet as big as yours would be able to move so well!”

“I didn’t want to let you down,” Kristoff said gallantly. “I’ve been taking lessons. I wanted today to be perfect for you.”

“Aw!” Anna cooed.

Meanwhile, other couples began to enter the dance. The King and Queen of Rizucia stepped out, as did various other royal pairings.

“Shall we?” Joanna nodded to Henrik, who nodded back as Joanna took his arm. They joined the dance. Joanna caught sight of her father and they smiled at each other. The king saw Henrik and gave him a menacing glance. Then Joanna saw Anna and they exchanged winks.

“You dance very well!” Henrik told Joanna. “You’re so graceful!”

“Thank you!” Joanna replied. “My mother taught me to dance. She taught me a lot.”

“Elsa was telling me all about you,” Henrik continued. “I’m glad to hear you have a life now. I’m so happy for you!”

“Thank you!” Joanna said as she blushed.

To the side of the room, Elsa was sitting with Ryder.

“Not tempted to have a dance?” Elsa asked.

“Are you kidding?” Ryder joked. “Singing is more our thing. I’ll just sit and watch. Everyone is so graceful! I’ve never seen anything like it!”

“It is beautiful, isn’t it?” Elsa agreed as she gently rested her head on her hand and watched the flurry of ball gowns swirl in time to the music.

The dancing continued as the evening wore on. Before long, Anna whispered to Kristoff.

“Shall we leave?” she said gently. “I think we’ve put on enough of a show, don’t you?”

“I think so!” Kristoff agreed. “But aren’t you forgetting one more tradition?” he asked.

“Oh, of course!” Anna said happily. She went to find Kai and whispered something in his ear.

Once the musicians drew their playing to a close, Kai stepped forwards and raised his arms.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Kai announced, “the bride and groom are about to depart. But before they do, the bride would like to invite all of the ladies present to assemble on the dance floor for the throwing of the bouquet!”

“The bouquet!” the Queen of Rizucia exclaimed. “Come along Joanna!” she called as everyone eligible raced to the dance floor and took their positions.

“What’s going on?” Joanna asked her mother.

“Queen Anna is about to throw her bouquet of flowers!” her mother answered excitedly. “Tradition says that whoever catches it will be the next to get married!”

“Oh,” Joanna mused.

“Ready everyone!” Anna called as she held up her bouquet. A cheer came up from the dance floor. “Okay, here we go!” Anna shouted as she turned round and threw her bouquet backwards over her shoulder.

The Queen of Rizucia raised her arm and plucked the bouquet out of the air. She straightaway thrust it into Joanna’s arms. Surprised, Joanna looked up at her mother and giggled.

“Congratulations to Princess Joanna of Rizucia!” Kai bellowed. “Now, we shall wish the happy couple farewell!”

The guests formed a guard of honour next to the ballroom door. Anna took Kristoff’s hand and walked past everyone, waving to all and smiling as she went. She then dragged Kristoff upstairs to her bedroom.

Back in the ballroom, the musicians started playing again and the dancing resumed. While Joanna and Henrik danced some more, Joanna looked over and saw that her father was asleep in his chair and her mother was gently tending to him. She looked up at Henrik and smiled.

“Shall we go somewhere more...private?” Joanna suggested.

“Are you sure?” Henrik replied before he quickly looked over his shoulder. “If your father saw us…”

“Don’t worry about him!” Joanna insisted. “He always overindulges, he won’t even notice we’ve gone!”

“Oh, okay then!” Henrik smiled. Together, they danced away from the dance floor, and towards the ballroom door, unnoticed by Joanna’s parents. They were however noticed by Elsa, who watched them while resting her chin on her arm and smiling contentedly.

Henrik and Joanna went upstairs, and they soon found the balcony. It was adorned with flowers, and as the night was so clear it gave a perfect view of the moon and stars. They sat down together.

“What a perfect day,” Joanna mused as she looked up at the moon. She held Henrik’s hand. “I hope you’re enjoying it as much as I am,” she said as she smiled at him.

“Are you kidding?” Henrik said gently. “This is the best night of my life! I serve Arendelle and Queen Anna, and here I am at her wedding ball with a beautiful princess!”

Joanna tilted her head a little. “You still think I’m beautiful?” she casually asked. “Even after everything I did?”

Henrik started to blush. “Yes,” he replied earnestly.

“Oh, I still feel bad about what I did though,” Joanna admitted. “I mean, I got you into trouble, didn’t I?”

“Don’t worry about it!” Henrik said gallantly. “Elsa told me all I need to know. It all makes sense now!” he said as he smiled at Joanna.

Joanna still wanted to explain. “I’m sorry, but I had to get out of there. Your general told me they were going to ‘deal with me’, I thought they were going to kill me!” she said, sounding upset.

“Come here,” Henrik said as he held out his arms to her. Joanna cuddled up to him and let him stroke her hair a little.

“You don’t need me to tell you how wonderful you are,” Henrik said kindly. “I never thought I’d be lucky enough to see you as you really are. I thought my only memories of you would be your eyes and...that punch...”

“My eyes…” Joanna thought to herself. She sat up and looked at Henrik.

“Do you still like my eyes?” she asked as she opened them wide.

Henrik looked into them once again. “They’re more beautiful than I remember,” he admitted. “Last time I saw them they were like emeralds, but emeralds tinged with sadness. Now, they’re pure,” he said as Joanna’s eyes started to tear up a little.

“Do you know what?” Joanna asked, her voice trembling slightly. “I’ve still never been kissed.”

Henrik smiled and they both closed their eyes. They moved closer to each other, and this time, they kissed each other passionately. They put their arms around each other and held each other tightly.

Once they had finished kissing, they looked up and smiled sweetly at each other. Joanna rested her head on Henrik’s chest and looked out at the stars.

“Oh Henrik, what’s going to happen to us?” she mused.

“What do you mean?” he softly asked in reply.

“Well, I don’t even know if we can see each other after tonight,” Joanna lamented. “I mean, I’m a Rizucian Princess and you’re an Arendellian soldier…”

“Let’s not worry about that now,” Henrik decided. “Let’s just enjoy tonight.”

Henrik and Joanna held each other as they both looked out at the stars. They kissed some more.

“Tell me more about your childhood,” Joanna said as she rested her head on Henrik’s shoulder. “I want to hear more of your happy memories!”

“Well, okay…” Henrik agreed.

They talked late into the night. Henrik talked about birthdays, holidays and fishing with his father. Joanna listened intently and held his hand, even telling him stories about the short time she had spent reunited with her parents. Eventually, the clock caught up with them.

“Joanna!” came a call from the Queen of Rizucia. Alarmed, Joanna and Henrik stopped embracing and sat bolt upright. 

“Joanna!” the Queen called before emerging at the balcony. “Ah, Joanna, there you are! I thought I might find you two lovebirds up here. Romantic isn’t it?” she said with a smile before she sighed. “I’m sorry, but the time has come for us to leave. It’s late, the dancing is over, and your father is a little worse for wear. A carriage is on its way to take us back to our ship for the night.”

“Aw, can’t I stay a little longer?” Joanna pouted.

“You can say goodbye to Henrik,” her mother announced, “but then we really must go. I’ll meet you by the castle door with your father.”

“Oh, alright,” Joanna agreed forlornly as her mother went back downstairs. Henrik and Joanna got up and turned to each other.

“We should say goodbye here,” Henrik said. “Best if I avoid your father…”

“Yes, I think you’re right,” Joanna agreed.

“We could write to each other!” Henrik hastily suggested.

“Yes, let’s do that!” Joanna said as she nodded and smiled.

“I could leave the army!” Henrik said hurriedly, becoming flustered. “I’ll become...a merchant! They sail everywhere. I could sail to Rizucia!”

Joanna stepped forwards and put her finger over his lips. “It’s okay Henrik,” she said softly as she held his hands. “Please don’t give up your dreams for me. You deserve to be happy,” she said as she smiled. “Thank you so much for tonight, it’s been magical.”

Henrik and Joanna stepped towards each other and kissed passionately one last time.

“I’ll never forget you Henrik,” Joanna said as she sighed. “You were the first person to give me a glimpse of happiness, and now, you’re the first person to show me love!”

Henrik lurched forward and held Joanna tightly.

“But now, I really must go,” she said as she began to move away from him. She held his hand one more time. “Goodbye Henrik!” she said as her hand slipped away from his.

“Goodbye,” Henrik said as he smiled. He held one hand up and gently waved. As Joanna went through the doors and down the stairs, tears formed in Henrik’s eyes. He slowly lowered his hand before turning away and sitting back down.

At the front door, Elsa had taken up the role of host and she was saying good night to the rest of the guests. Joanna joined her mother. Her father was propped up against her.

“Marvellous occasion, marvellous…” her father slurred. “Ah Joanna!” he said as he caught sight of her. “Where’s that Henrik? Marvellous young man, absolutely marvellous…”

Joanna laughed a little and shook her head at her father’s antics.

“Your carriage is here,” Elsa remarked. “Would you like some help, Your Majesty?” she said to the queen.

The queen scrunched up her face and nodded. One of the guards began to help the king to his carriage. The king saw him and drunkenly threw his arm around him.

“This boy here?” the king slurred again. “He’s the best...soldier in Arendelle. A credit to his kingdom!” he drawled as he was helped into the carriage. “Long live...our beef!” the king cried.

Joanna stood next to Elsa and giggled. Elsa turned to her and could see that she had tears in her eyes.

“Did you enjoy the evening?” Elsa asked her softly.

Joanna said nothing. She just turned to Elsa and threw her arms around her, taking her a little by surprise.

“I take it that’s a yes then!” Elsa joked.

“Thank you Elsa,” Joanna said as she stood up. “Thank you for everything, but most of all thank you for Henrik,” she said as she smiled. “He was so kind to me...again!”

“You’re very welcome,” Elsa said as she put her hand on Joanna’s shoulder, “but I think you’d better go now, your parents are waiting for you. I’ll see you tomorrow!”

Joanna gave Elsa another hug then waved as she ran to the waiting carriage. Her mother and father had already sat down in it, and her father had gone to sleep.

As the carriage made its way through the courtyard, Joanna looked out of the window and saw Henrik, who was still sitting on the balcony, hunched over in the moonlight with his chin in his hands.

“It’s Henrik!” Joanna excitedly said to her mother. She turned round, waved and blew him a kiss. Henrik tentatively waved back as he watched Joanna’s carriage disappear into the night.

“You love him, don’t you?” the queen quietly asked Joanna.

“Yes,” Joanna admitted as she looked down and ran her fingertips through her hair, “but it will never happen for us, will it? We live in different countries, he’s a soldier, I’m a princess…”

“Don’t be so quick to dismiss your chances!” the queen enthused. “Look at your friend Kristoff. He was just an ice harvester and now he’s the Prince of Arendelle!”

“I suppose so…” Joanna replied gently as she looked away and sighed.

“Never say never!” her mother insisted. “I have a feeling you’ll see Henrik again. Love finds a way…”

Joanna held her mother’s hand. “Well, I hope you’re right!” Joanna smiled as the carriage made its way to the harbour.

Back at the castle, Henrik knew that Joanna had left, so he went back downstairs to find Elsa by the front door. Not forgetting his role, he stood to attention.

“At ease, Henrik!” Elsa giggled. “Thank you. You showed my friend Joanna a wonderful evening, and you represented the army with decorum and grace. General Mattias shall hear about this!”

Henrik stood at ease and smiled proudly. “Oh, thank you, Your Highness!” he said.

“But now you must be getting back to the barracks, and I need rest. It’s been a long day!” Elsa declared as she began to walk up the stairs. “Good night!”

Henrik turned to Elsa. “Just one question if I may, Your Highness,” he said hesitantly.

“Oh?” Elsa said as she turned round.

Henrik sighed. “Do you think I’ll ever see her again?”

Elsa smiled sweetly at him. “Who can say?” she replied as she held her arms out a little. “It’s love. It's a mystery to which no one has all the answers!” she called as she continued her way up the stairs.

Henrik turned to leave the castle. He walked back to the barracks, his heart full of hope.

The next morning, the guests who hadn’t left gathered at the docks to wish Anna and Kristoff well before they sailed away from Arendelle for their honeymoon.

“I hope you all had a good time last night!” Kristoff called out. Everyone nodded and clapped in approval. “I know we did!” he said as he looked at Anna and winked.

Anna smiled and winked back. “Hope everyone enjoyed yesterday,” she called, “but now we must sail away for some sunshine and sandy beaches! See you all again soon!”

The guests applauded and some cheered. Anna and Kristoff turned to Elsa, Olaf, Sven and Ryder to say their goodbyes.

“Bye little guy!” Anna said as she bent down to ruffle Olaf’s twig hair. “And remember, nothing’s changed. Kristoff and I may be married now, but we’ll still have our adventures together when we get back!”

“Sure thing!” Olaf replied. “Have fun!” He suddenly looked down. “I wish I could go though. I’d love to see what you do on a honeymoon!”

Anna giggled as she and Kristoff turned to Ryder.

“Once again, great job buddy!” Kristoff said as he gave Ryder a firm handshake.

“Aw thanks,” Ryder replied. “I’m just glad it’s over, now I can relax!”

“Give our regards to everyone in Northuldra!” Anna said happily.

Kristoff turned to Sven. “You were great too buddy,” he said as Sven looked like he was about to cry. “Aw, no need for that! You heard what Anna said to Olaf, nothing has changed. We'll be back before you know it, and we’ll always be best buds, yeah?” Kristoff stroked Sven’s face and he gently nodded. “That’s the spirit!” Kristoff said happily as Sven managed a smile.

Kristoff turned to Elsa and hugged her. “Don’t worry,” Kristoff said. “I’ll look after her.”

“You always have!” Elsa enthused. “Enjoy your honeymoon!”

Anna turned to Elsa. Elsa held her arms out and the two embraced. “I know I have Kristoff now,” Anna smiled, “but I know that whatever I do, you’ll always look out for me!”

“Always,” Elsa said softly as she looked into Anna’s eyes. Anna felt herself tearing up.

“Thank you for everything,” Anna said before she started crying. Elsa held onto her tightly.

“Now, you two have a wonderful holiday!” Elsa said calmly. Anna and Kristoff held hands and walked up the gangway, waving as they went. The guests waved back. The gangway was taken in, and Anna and Kristoff’s ship began to sail away from Arendelle.

As she watched her sister’s ship leave the kingdom, Elsa sighed happily. She knew this was a new chapter in all of their lives. She was beginning to lose herself in reflection, when Joanna and her family joined her.

“Good morning Elsa!” Joanna said gently.

“Ah, good morning!” Elsa softly replied.

“Sorry we didn't say hello earlier,” the Queen of Rizucia added, “it looked like you were having a private family moment!”

“Yes indeed!” Elsa replied as she looked out at her sister’s ship. “Anna may say otherwise but I know things are different now,” Elsa said as she smiled.

Joanna nodded sagely in agreement. Olaf gulped in worry. Elsa turned to the king.

“And how are you this morning, Your Majesty?” Elsa enquired.

“Oh fine, fine,” the king said apologetically as he put his hand to his head. “I know I overindulged last night, I do hope I didn’t do anything too embarrassing…”

“It’s fine, Your Majesty!” Elsa smiled. “It was a wedding after all!”

The king nodded then took in a few lungfuls of the crisp sea air. “Wow, I needed that!” he exclaimed.

“Oh Dad!” Joanna giggled as she gently shook her head. She turned to Elsa with a look of expectation.

“Now then,” Elsa said as she picked up Olaf. “Let’s think about our holiday, shall we?”


	24. Farewell

The crowd at the harbour waved as Anna’s ship sailed away from Arendelle. Elsa held on to Olaf and let out a contented sigh as the rest of the wedding guests began to board their ships.

“I still don’t understand why I can’t go on honeymoon with them,” said Olaf, sounding confused. “I mean, why do Anna and Kristoff want to spend time alone anyway?”

“It’ll all make sense when you’re older!” Elsa told him while bending down to ruffle his hair. “And anyway, you can come on our trip with us!”

Olaf smiled at Elsa and giggled, eager to go on their trip. Meanwhile, Joanna was talking to her parents.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” her father asked, sounding concerned. “Your mother and I are worried about leaving you here. Rizucia won’t be the same without you!”

“It’s only for a couple of weeks Dad!” Joanna replied. “I think I’m old enough to be left on my own. And anyway, I’m sure Elsa will look after me!”

“Alright!” Joanna’s mother said. “You know your father and I get worried, it’s what parents do! Very well, you have your holiday, the ship will be waiting for you here when you get back.”

“Aw, thank you!” Joanna said as she walked up to her parents, preparing to give them a hug. The three of them quickly embraced. “Bon voyage!” Joanna said to her parents as they boarded their ship.

Once the King and Queen of Rizucia had sailed away, Elsa walked up to Joanna. “Now then, our carriage awaits!” she said as she gestured in the direction of Sven. He was all ready to pull Kristoff’s wagon and he was standing proudly in his harness. 

“Oh, er, delightful!” Joanna said as she gave Sven a nervous wave.

“Are you ready Ryder?” Elsa called.

“Sure thing!” Ryder replied as he jumped into the wagon. He grabbed Olaf and pulled him in, his little snowman legs dangling over the side. Joanna climbed in with a little more grace. Elsa sat at the front and took the reins. Sven trotted away from the docks and took them in the direction of the North Mountain.

“I thought I’d take a little detour on our way to Northuldra,” Elsa said while turning around to face everyone. “You’ve all got some warm clothes, yes?”

“Yes, we remembered!” Joanna replied, excited to see where she was being taken. After a while, they reached the North Mountain. Joanna could just make out something sparkling at the top of the mountain in the morning sun.

“What’s that at the top?” asked Joanna. “Is that where we’re going?”

“You’ll see!” Elsa replied calmly.

As the wagon made its way up the mountain path, the group got closer to the summit. Joanna’s eyes sparkled with delight when she realised what was at the top.

“It...it’s a palace!” she exclaimed to Elsa before turning to Ryder. “Do you see it too? Isn’t it beautiful!”

“Yes, I can see it!” Ryder smiled. He looked up and concentrated on it, dazzled by its beauty.

“I like to call it home,” said Olaf. “It’s got everything a snowman needs!”

The wagon continued up the mountain until they reached an icy staircase. Sven knew that he couldn’t go any further, and he stopped while everyone else got out the wagon. As they all walked up the staircase to the ice palace, Ryder and Joanna gasped.

“Elsa, this is incredible!” Joanna said softly. “You made this?”

“Yes,” Elsa said with a tinge of melancholy. “I remember when you asked me how I coped with my powers, and if I got angry. Well, on the day of my coronation I ran away, and ended up here. I let all of my anger and frustration go, and I made this place. I intended to stay here forever.”

“Wow,” Joanna gasped, looking up at the palace. “I guess powers can be creative afterall!”

“Shall we go in?” Elsa suggested.

Joanna tried to run on ahead, eager to go through the palace door. Elsa put her hand on Joanna’s shoulder and gently held her back.

“Best let Olaf go first,” Elsa smiled.

“Why?” Joanna asked.

“You’ll see!” Elsa replied as Olaf toddled up to the door and knocked on it.

“Hey bro! You in?” Olaf called.

There were some dull thuds from inside before the door was opened by Marshmallow, a monster Elsa created as a guard for the ice palace. He looked around and sniffed the air before looking down at Olaf and giving off a low grunt.

“Hi big guy, some friends want to see the place!” said Olaf. Marshmallow opened the door wide and Olaf wandered in, followed by Elsa. Joanna and Ryder followed close behind while Marshmallow glared at them and growled. Elsa turned back to address him.

“It’s okay, these are my friends too!” Elsa told him gently. Marshmallow nodded and slinked away.

“Incredible,” said Ryder. “I’ve never seen anything like this!”

“It’s stunning!” Joanna added. “And you really built this all by yourself?”

“Yes,” Elsa replied. “I’d spent my entire life trying to keep my powers a secret. When I first came here I was on my own, I felt such a rush as I did whatever I wanted. It was really something! Would you like to see the view from the balcony?”

“Sure!” Ryder enthused as he ran to the doors of the balcony and flung them open. “Wow! What a view!” he said as he looked over Arendelle and the fjord below.

“It’s beautiful,” said Joanna as she joined him. “And Arendelle looks so pretty,” she said as she realised that the town had fully recovered from the fires she started all those months ago.

After looking around in amazement, Joanna realised something. “Wait. There’s no food here. Or water. Were you really going to live here?” she asked Elsa.

Elsa looked down at the ground and held one of her arms with her hand. “Yes,” she said as she let out a sigh.

“Oh…” Joanna exclaimed as she opened her eyes wide and looked at Elsa’s forlorn figure. She walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Shall we go?” she asked gently.

Elsa didn’t reply. She just continued to look at the ground while she gave a single nod.

Joanna looked around and noticed something unusual about the icy blue walls. They were turning green.

Joanna turned to Ryder and called to him.

“Ryder!” she said while raising her voice. “Time to go!”

“Already?” he replied while still looking out over the fjord. “But we just got here!” He turned and looked at the walls, then at Elsa. “Oh,” he said as he came to a realisation. “This place holds bad memories for you, huh?”

“Yes,” Elsa replied quietly, trying to hide her feelings.

“Okay then, let’s go,” said Olaf as he toddled over towards the door. “You’ve heard all of my brother's stories anyway.”

Marshmallow let out a confused grunt as the four of them left the palace.

“Bye bro!” Olaf called. “I’ll be back to read you some Pushkin later!”

Another confused grunt from Marshmallow filled the palace as they left through the front door.

The party returned to the wagon. This time, Joanna sat at the front with Elsa while Ryder and Olaf sat in the back. Sven pulled them away from the North Mountain and towards Northuldra.

Joanna put her hand on Elsa’s shoulder. “Thank you for sharing that with me,” Joanna said softly while looking up at Elsa. “I realise how important it is. I think I know a little more about you now.”

Elsa glanced at Joanna and managed to raise a slight smile. “I’m sorry we couldn’t stay longer,” Elsa apologised. “I just wanted you to see it. I created it a long time ago, but I’ve moved on. I know who I am now. I hope you know who you are too.”

Joanna thought for a second while looking forwards. “I...I think I do,” she said while glancing sideways at Elsa. “Things are great at home. My parents care about me, I have lots of friends, and most importantly I feel like I’ve made up for all the damage I caused. I’m the Princess of Rizucia, and I’ve accepted that I’ll be queen one day. I can see a future now.”

Elsa smiled gently. “It’s so good to hear you say that!” she said to Joanna. “Okay then, next stop Northuldra!”

“Ooh, time for more trivia!” Olaf enthused. “Did you know that each part of the foot corresponds to a different part of the human body? It’s true! You can cure any ailment just by rubbing someone’s feet!”

“But what if you’ve got a sore foot?” joked Joanna. Everyone else other than Olaf chuckled.

“Oh right, didn’t think of that,” Olaf admitted while scratching his chin. “Anyway…”

Everyone let out a slight groan as Olaf reeled off more of his trivia. After several hours they reached the top of a hill that overlooked the Northuldra forest.

“Let’s take a break here,” Elsa called. ”You’ll enjoy the view!”

They all jumped out of the wagon and gasped as they saw the forest. It’s lush green colours stretched out for miles.

“I’m so proud I get to call this place home,” said Ryder contentedly. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

Joanna nodded but she couldn’t speak. She held her hands to her chest then wiped away a tear.

“Are you okay?” Elsa asked as she put her arm around Joanna’s shoulder.

“Yes…” Joanna managed to reply. “It’s just...I never thought I’d see the forest like this! It’s incredible!”

As Joanna looked around, she could see an area of the forest by the coast that was clearly still recovering from the huge fire. She lifted her hands to her mouth in shock.

“Oh…” Joanna winced. “I can see where I first landed. I’m so sorry…” she said as she shook her head.

“Don’t worry,” Elsa said calmly. “That was a long time ago and you’re not who you were then. We’ll make this right, remember?”

“Yes, I know...it’s just...can I have a moment alone?” Joanna asked. “Please?”

Elsa nodded and the rest of her party headed back to the wagon. Joanna looked over the forest and began to tear up.

“I have a life now thanks to Elsa, and this is where it all started,” she thought to herself. “I know what I need to do…”

After a couple of minutes staring over the breathtaking view of the forest, Joanna sighed and headed back to the wagon. The others were ready to set off. She climbed up front and sat next to Elsa. 

As they set off for the Northuldra camp, Elsa put her hand on Joanna’s shoulder.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, concerned. “Are you ready for this?”

“Yes, I’m ready,” Joanna replied.

“Okay then, let’s go,” said Elsa. Sven started to pull the wagon north.

After a short while, the wagon arrived at the Northuldra camp. Ryder hopped out of the wagon and ran to his sister Honeymaren.

“Hey bro!” she said as they hugged. “Welcome back! How did being Kristoff’s best man go? You didn’t embarrass yourself did you?” she asked as she winked and nudged him in the arm.

By then, Elsa had caught up and she joined them. “He was great!” Elsa told Honeymaren. “It was a fantastic speech, everyone thought so. He didn’t even embarrass Kristoff by saying that thing about the reindeer!”

Elsa looked over at the wagon. Joanna was standing there looking on, clasping her hands in front of her. She sheepishly looked at the ground.

“Joanna!” Elsa called. “Come and join us, it’s okay!”

Joanna nervously ran her fingers through her hair and raised a slight smile. She began to walk over to Elsa. Honeymaren took a step towards Joanna and opened her arms to her. Joanna smiled at Honeymaren and accepted her embrace.

“We told you we’d welcome you with open arms!” Honeymaren told her before she took a step back and looked at Joanna from head to toe. “You look wonderful, and so different!”

“Yes, well, I’m acting like a princess now,” Joanna said nervously. “I have standards to uphold and everything!” she giggled.

Just then, the elder Yelena walked up to them with a warm smile on her face.

“Well, well, Princess Joanna of Rizucia!” she declared as she held out her hands. Joanna reached forwards and held on to them. “How good of you to return to Northuldra. I trust we will hear about all of your good deeds?”

“You certainly will!” Elsa chimed in. “Everyone in Arendelle has been very impressed!”

“That’s wonderful to hear!” Yelena enthused. Joanna hunched up, feeling embarrassed. “Everything has been prepared for your ceremony tomorrow,” Yelena continued, “but before then we have an evening of celebratory entertainment planned! Please, come with us!”

Yelena led everyone to a clearing. There, they found half a dozen Northuldra tending to their reindeer.

“We have prepared a reindeer race!” Yelena announced. “The rules are simple. The first rider to complete three laps of the course wins. Do we have any late entries?” she asked as she glanced towards Ryder.

“What do you say, Sven?” Ryder asked him. “Think you’ve got enough energy to take on these guys?”

Sven grunted, smirked and kicked a hoof. He was ready.

“Alright then!” Ryder declared as he jumped on Sven’s back. “Let’s do this!” he said with a smile on his face. He laughed and joked with the rider next to him as they took their place in the line up.

While they were getting ready to race, a baby reindeer walked up to Olaf and nuzzled him.

“Hey boy!” Olaf said obliviously. The baby reindeer gave a little grunt and nodded in the direction of the racers.

“Oh, you want to go in the race too?” Olaf asked. The baby reindeer smiled and quickly nodded. “And you want...me to ride you?” Olaf enquired. The baby reindeer continued to nod. Olaf looked up at Elsa with a confused look on his face.

“Oh, go on Olaf, what’s the worst that could happen?” Elsa insisted.

Olaf shrugged his shoulders, and hopped up on the baby reindeer’s back. Together, they took their place in the line up. The baby reindeer looked up at Sven and winked. Sven couldn’t stop himself from laughing.

Joanna walked up to Yelena. “May I have the honour of starting the race in traditional Rizucian fashion?” she asked. Yelena opened her arms and gestured towards the reindeer while bowing a little.

Joanna put her hands in front of her and turned her nose up, jokingly putting on swanky airs. She walked up to the riders and took out her handkerchief.

“Riders, you are racing for the honour of a kiss from myself!” she declared. “When my handkerchief falls to the ground, the race will begin!”

The reindeer got ready to start, and all eyes of the riders were on Joanna. She held her handkerchief up, then dropped it. It fluttered to the ground and they were off!

The adult reindeer sprinted off together, with Sven taking a slight lead. The baby reindeer enthusiastically tried to keep up, with Olaf’s body segmenting as he tried to hold on. The lap only took the adult reindeer a minute to complete, the rest of the Northuldra cheering them on as they galloped down the home straight. The baby reindeer was tiring, it’s tongue hanging out as it lagged far behind.

“Shall I give them a hand?” Elsa whispered to Joanna.

“Oh, go on then!” Joanna replied. “It’s just for fun after all!”

Elsa nodded, then raised her arms and made a trail of ice that ran the whole length of the course appear in front of the baby reindeer. She then made an icy wind blow behind the baby reindeer, propelling it past the other racers. Olaf held on for dear life, the pieces of his body flying behind him. They quickly completed the second lap, way ahead of everyone else. They sped towards the finish line, about to win the race. Everyone by the line was cheering for them.

“Elsa, they’ve got to stop, remember?” Joanna said worriedly.

Elsa realised her mistake and held her hand to her mouth. In a panic, she used her powers to create a wall of ice after the finish line. Olaf and the baby reindeer slid across the line to huge applause, then crashed right into the ice. The baby reindeer sat there a little dazed, but Olaf went flying, with pieces of him landing all over the place.

“Oh dear!” Joanna called as she put her hands over her mouth and giggled. 

The rest of the riders raced towards the line, with Sven and Ryder finishing second.

While Olaf’s head was on its side, the lower part of his body walked up to it. Joanna and Elsa gathered up his buttons, arms, hair and carrot nose. They caught up with him and put him back together. Olaf frowned and rubbed his head.

“What’s the worst that could happen…” Olaf muttered to himself.

“Well, congratulations Olaf, you won!” Joanna said happily. “This should make you feel better!” she said as she bent down and gave him a peck on the cheek. Olaf giggled bashfully.

“Hey!” Ryder called as he and Sven walked up to them. “No fair!”

“Aw, it was just a bit of fun,” Joanna giggled. “You boys did very well, you deserve a kiss too!”

Joanna gave Ryder and Sven pecks on the cheek and they laughed bashfully too. “Well, I guess it was worth it!” Ryder joked.

Yelena approached them with a smile on her face. “Now then, thank you for the exhilaration everyone, but now it is time to eat!”

They all made their way back to the campsite, and took their places around the fire where a pot of stew was cooking. Joanna sat between Elsa and Honeymaren.

“I remember when I was last eating stew here…” Joanna said as she looked at the campfire. “Times really do change, don’t they?”

“They certainly do!” Honeymaren said softly. “Do you think you are ready to tell us what happened to you in Ahtohallan? We’d love to know!”

Joanna put her bowl down and smiled at Honeymaren. “Well, okay! I think I’m ready!” she declared. On hearing her words, the rest of the Northuldra turned to listen.

“Things were so different then,” she began to explain. “I still had my powers. I knew that Elsa was a lot stronger than I was, and I thought the key to her power lay in Ahtohallan. I turned myself into a fireball to cross the Dark Sea, when the Water Nokk kicked me, then tried to drown me. I still don’t know why, but it suddenly disappeared.”

Elsa looked to the side and thought for a moment. She then opened her eyes wide when she pieced everything together. She realised that she saved Joanna in a totally different way.

“When I finally got to Ahtohallan, I saw so many memories.” Joanna continued. The Northuldra leaned in, eager to hear more. “The images themselves were beautiful,” she said gently, looking distant. “They were made of ice and snow, and they had this incredible blue glow.” The Northuldra tilted their heads and gently murmured at the idea.

“It was what they depicted that was less beautiful,” Joanna said forlornly. “I saw memories from my life that made me sad. I saw myself being locked in the castle tower. I saw myself as a baby shooting fire from my fingers, and worst of all, I saw my mother drinking a magic potion that gave me my powers,” she said as she closed her eyes and looked at the floor. The Northuldra gasped in shock.

“That last vision made me so...angry,” Joanna continued, sounding pained. “I felt betrayed. Betrayed by my own parents. Their actions meant that I grew up alone.” She let out a sigh. “The anger amplified my powers,” she said as she looked at her hands. “I couldn’t think straight. My thoughts were dominated by fury and revenge. I remember standing on top of the glacier and firing a huge jet of fire into the night sky. Did you see it?” she asked everyone. They all nodded.

“Wow…” Joanna gasped as she looked to the side. She sighed again. “Then Elsa arrived,” she said as she looked up at her. Elsa smiled awkwardly.

Joanna crossed her arms and looked down. “I wasn’t myself. I thought that only Elsa could stop me,” Joanna said as her voice started to tremble. “I attacked her,” she said as she leaned forward and placed her hand on her face. The Northuldra gasped again.

Elsa reached across and held Joanna’s hand. 

“But Elsa fought back!” Joanna declared as she took a sharp breath and sat up. “She drew us both into the Chamber of Emptiness. I lost my powers! Elsa helped me out of Ahtohallan, and led me here,” Joanna smiled as she held her arms out.

The Northuldra gasped happily, then smiled and nodded to one another.

“So Ahtohallan is beautiful,” Joanna concluded as she looked down. “Without it, I wouldn’t have lost my powers. Without my powers, I see the beauty in the world.” She looked up at the Northuldra and sighed. “All thanks to the spirits,” she said as she looked at Elsa before turning back to the Northuldra, “and Ahtohallan.”

The Northuldra smiled, and some of them started to hum. The humming soon formed a rich harmony. Joanna turned to Honeymaren.

“What’s going on?” Joanna whispered. “Did I say something wrong?”

Honeymaren smiled and shook her head. “You’ve inspired us!” she declared.

The humming turned to signing. The Northuldra slowly got to their feet, and their harmonies soon filled the night air. Joanna felt a lump in her throat as Elsa and Honeymaren held her hands. She listened intently to the singing of the Northuldra, and closed her eyes. She immersed herself in the song. When it was over, Yelena walked up to Joanna and smiled sagely at her.

“Your tale of deliverance proves to me that you are ready for tomorrow!” Yelena declared. “But now, we all need rest. To bed everyone!”

“You’ll sleep in my tent tonight,” Elsa said softly to Joanna. Honeymaren approached her with a pail of water.

“Would you like to do the honours?” she asked Joanna as she smiled.

“Oh okay,” Joanna replied as she took the pail. “For old times sake!” she said as she threw the water on the campfire, extinguishing the flames.

Elsa and Joanna were sleeping soundly next to each other when Elsa sensed something and woke up. While she was still on her side, Bruni the fire spirit got into the tent and scuttled up to her face.

“You sense it too, don’t you?” Elsa whispered as Bruni let out one of his little grunts. “Shall we wake Joanna?” Bruni licked his eyeball, which made Elsa giggle. “I’ll take that as a yes!” she smiled.

Elsa sat up and gently grabbed Joanna’s knee. “Hey, Joanna, wake up!” she whispered as she shook her leg. Joanna blinked and woke up, bleary-eyed.

“Wha-what’s going on?” Joanna asked as her vision came into focus and she looked at Elsa. “What’s the matter?”

“Everything’s fine!” Elsa assured her. “I’ve got something to show you, but it’s a surprise! Close your eyes and get out of the tent, then I’ll take you to it.”

Joanna couldn’t wait to see the surprise. She closed her eyes, then clumsily made her way out of the tent. Elsa got out too and stood next to her. Taking her by the shoulder, Elsa put her hand over Joanna’s eyes and led her to a nearby clearing. She made sure that she was facing the right way then took her hand away from her eyes.

“Okay, you can open your eyes now!” Elsa beamed.

Joanna opened her eyes and stepped back in amazement. Her jaw nearly hit the floor. She raised her hands to her mouth then clutched her chest as she looked at Elsa.

“Wow!” she exclaimed. “Aurora borealis! The Northern Lights! Fire in the sky!”

Joanna ran up to Elsa and grabbed her while jumping up and down. “Thank you! Thank you!” she exclaimed.

“I thought you might like them!” Elsa said casually as she tried to peel Joanna off her.

“Oh, I’ve only read about them in books! Aren’t they beautiful!” Joanna shouted as she turned to look at them. Great sheets of purple and green light danced in the night sky, dazzling Joanna. 

“Shall we sit and watch them?” Elsa asked.

“Oh yes please!” Joanna replied. She went back to the tent to get some things to sit down and keep warm on.

As Elsa and Joanna sat down to watch the light show together, Joanna let out a contented sigh.

“You know Elsa, it’s at times like this when I realise just how lucky I am,” Joanna said. “I know things could have been so different. If you hadn’t saved me back in Ahtohallan…”

“Hey, you don’t need to think about that now,” Elsa interrupted her. “Let’s watch the lights, shall we?”

Joanna chuckled a little. “And you always know just what to say!” Joanna said with a smile. Elsa smiled right back.

“You know,” said Joanna, “I’ve never said this to anyone other than my parents, but...I love you Elsa. You’re like the big sister I never had.”

“I love you too, Joanna,” Elsa replied. “You remind me so much of Anna. She used to get so excited by the Northern Lights too!”

Joanna scooched over to Elsa who cradled her, just like she had done before. They watched the light show for a little longer.

Joanna sighed contentedly, half asleep. “Do you ever think back to when we first met?” Joanna softly asked Elsa.

Elsa chuckled a little. “No,” she said as she hugged Joanna. “What would be the point?”

“I suppose so!” Joanna agreed.

Elsa had her own question for Joanna. “Do you ever look at that statuette I made for you?” she asked.

Joanna smiled. “I haven’t had time!” she insisted. “You told me that I should look at that statuette if I ever felt alone. And the fact is,” she said as she shrugged her shoulders, “I’ve not felt alone since!”

“Aw, that’s wonderful!” Elsa said gently as a beaming smile came across her face.

“I mean, how could I feel alone now?” Joanna continued. “I have my parents, I have the kingdom, I have my friends. And right now,” she said as she turned away from the lights to look at Elsa, “I have you!”

Elsa hugged Joanna tighter and smiled. “Would you like to see something more magical?” she asked.

Joanna gasped. “More magical than this?” she asked.

“Just watch!” Elsa said softly. She raised her hand, and cast her icy magic into the lights. Soon, blues and whites joined the greens and purples, creating an even more dazzling display of colour. Patterns of snowflakes emerged from the symphony of tinctures. 

“Wow…” Joanna gasped, entranced. Elsa held her as the show continued. After a while, the icy magic faded away.

“Now, shall we go back to sleep?” Elsa asked. “It’s your big day tomorrow!”

“Aw, but I want to see more!” Joanna insisted.

“There’s always tomorrow night!” Elsa gently enthused.

“Oh, okay!” Joanna replied.

With that, they left the lights behind them and went back to the tent, where they slept until morning.

The next day, the Northuldra prepared for Joanna’s ceremony. Elsa and Joanna got out of their tent and met Yelena by the campfire.

“Everything is in place!” Yelena said calmly. “Please, Princess Joanna, follow me.”

Yelena confidently strode to the part of the forest where Joanna first landed, her staff in hand. Joanna followed close behind, her hands neatly held in front of her. Elsa walked behind Joanna, gently smiling.

When they reached the forest, they found the rest of the Northuldra waiting for them. They all gently smiled in anticipation. Joanna could see that a small hole had been dug at the edge of the forest, and a sapling was standing next to it. Joanna let out a contented sigh. Yelena stepped towards her, smiled and took her hands.

“We are here today, to witness healing,” Yelena declared. “Healing of the forest, and of Princess Joanna’s spirit. Now that she is no longer burdened by her curse, she has pledged herself to restore the forest, and to satisfy the spirits of nature.”

With that, three Northuldran men began to beat the ground in time with their staffs. They started to sing a rich harmony. Before long, the rest of the Northuldra joined in.

Joanna suddenly felt something nudging her foot. Yelena let go of her hands, and Joanna looked down to see Bruni smiling up at her. Elsa told Joanna to hold her hands out, and she used her powers to create a tiny snowdrift in them. Joanna knelt down and Bruni hopped into the snowdrift, purring contentedly.

“All of the spirits wanted to be here!” Elsa said gently as she smiled at Joanna. Just then, Joanna felt a breeze tickle her back, then her arms, making her giggle. It was Gale, the wind spirit, and it mischievously blew over Elsa too. Joanna looked out at the sea, and saw that the Water Nokk was standing majestically at the edge of the forest, looking at her proudly. Then she felt the ground shake.

Joanna suddenly looked around, alarmed. “What’s that?” she hurriedly asked Elsa.

Elsa remained impassive. “When I said all of the spirits wanted to be here,” she said as she turned towards the source of the thumping noise, “I meant all of them!”

Over the forest canopy, an earth giant emerged. It was a Goliath of a creature whose body was composed entirely of rock. It approached Joanna and Elsa and leaned over so that it’s nose was next to them. No longer alarmed, Joanna joined Elsa in gently placing her hand on it. The giant stood back up, and stood a distance away from the Northuldra.

As the singing continued, Honeymaren approached Joanna, holding the sapling in her hands. She smiled longingly, and held the sapling out. Joanna took a step towards her and carefully took the sapling from her.

As Joanna walked with the sapling, she felt tears in her eyes and a pride in her heart. She reached the edge of the forest, crouched down and carefully placed the sapling in the hole. Using her hands, she tightly packed the soil into the hole and around the base of the sapling. As she stood up, she tilted her head to one side and softly smiled as she contemplated the sapling she had just planted. When she looked round, she saw Elsa, Honeymaren and Yelena smiling proudly at her. She began to walk back towards them.

Bruni hopped around Joanna’s feet. The wind spirit blew Bruni up into the air in front of Joanna, before it put him down and blew over her, making her giggle. It then happily breezed over the sapling, tickling its tiny branches. The Water Nokk triumphantly reared onto its hind legs, and the earth giant smiled contentedly.

As the Northuldra song reached its climax, Joanna hugged Honeymaren, then Elsa. Yelena held her hands out. Joanna took them while Bruni scurried around her feet. The beautiful harmonies of the Northuldra singing brought their song to a conclusion. Joanna sighed in happiness as she looked into Yelena’s eyes.

“The spirits are satisfied,” Yelena softly announced. “Through your contrition, your deeds at home and your actions here, you have more than made up for the misdeeds of your past life. Through the simple act of planting a tree, you have given back to the forest. You have formed a connection with nature that can never be broken. The sun smiles upon you, and from this day forth, you shall forever be a friend of the Northuldra.”

Tears poured from Joanna’s eyes as she smiled at Yelena with uncontrollable happiness. Yelena started to tear up too. She let go of Joanna’s hands and opened her arms to her.

“Come here, my child,” Yelena said as she smiled. Joanna gratefully put her arms around Joanna as they embraced.

Elsa and Honeymaren wiped away tears as the rest of the Northuldra politely applauded. The earth giant slowly turned round and began to lumber its way back north. The Water Nokk elegantly disappeared into the sea. Yelena and Joanna’s embrace came to an end.

“We shall return to our camp now,” said Yelena.

“I’d like to stay here if I may,” Joanna said while drying her eyes. “I’d just like to take everything in.”

“Of course!” Yelena replied softly. She joined the rest of the Northuldra as they walked back to their camp, leaving just Joanna and Elsa. They smiled at each other.

“I know it’s not much,” Joanna said as she turned to face the sapling, “but that little tree means everything to me.”

“Of course it does!” Elsa replied earnestly. “That’s your tree. Your tree will be a part of Northuldra for generations to come!”

“I know…” Joanna said softly as she slowly nodded, “that’s what makes it so special!”

“Now, shall we go back to the camp?” Elsa asked. “You’ve got a whole holiday to enjoy!”

“I just...would like to be alone here, if that’s okay?” Joanna asked as she put her hand on Elsa’s arm. “Just for a short while. I’ve got a lot to think about…”

“Of course!” Elsa said as she held her arms out. Joanna stepped forwards and Elsa held her. “You take as long as you need okay? I’ll be here for you!”

“Thank you, Elsa,” Joanna said softly. She looked down and sighed, then looked up at Elsa. “For everything that you’ve done for me.”

Their embrace ended. Elsa smiled at Joanna then turned to catch up with the Northuldra.

For the first time in her life, Joanna was glad to be alone. The sea was calm. She looked out over it as she listened to the birds sing in the forest. She thought of the first time she laid eyes on the forests of Northuldra, and how different things were now. As she sighed, she walked up to a tree, and placed her hand on it. Feeling the bark against her fingers she looked up, saw a squirrel on a branch, and smiled. The squirrel scampered up the tree and disappeared out of sight. Joanna let out a giggle.

Sighing, Joanna walked up to the tree she had planted. Thoughts about time filled her mind. She knew that the mercifully brief reign of the Fire Queen was over. Some day, her father would pass on and she would take her rightful place as the Queen of Rizucia. Her tree would still be there. Hopefully she would have children, and she would eventually pass the throne on to them. Her tree would still be there. Before long, her legacy, and the lives of everyone in Rizucia, Northuldra, Arendelle, and the whole world, would be but faded memories, but the tree would endure. Her tree. The tree planted by Princess Joanna of Rizucia.

Once Joanna had finished her contemplation, she turned back to the Northuldra camp and caught up with Elsa.

“How are you feeling?” Elsa gently asked her.

“Great!” Joanna replied without hesitation. “Just...great! I feel lucky, honoured,” she said as she smiled and held her arms out, “and so happy!”

“That’s wonderful!” Elsa enthused as she held Joanna’s hand. “Now, let’s go and enjoy your holiday!”

Together, they took long walks, went swimming in a lake, and sat around the campfire with the Northuldra. The two weeks flew by. When they were over, it was time for Joanna to say her goodbyes. She stood at the shore of Northuldra next to Elsa and the Water Nokk.

“Well, thank you all for everything, it’s been wonderful!” Joanna said as she held her hands out to the Northuldra. “I shall have to make this my regular holiday!”

“You know you’re welcome any time!” Honeymaren said as she hugged her. With that, Joanna waved everyone goodbye, and set off with Elsa on the back of the Water Nokk.

As it galloped across the calm waters, Joanna thought about the last time she was on the Water Nokk with Elsa. She took in a deep breath as she saw Arendelle castle majestically rising in the distance. As they approached the harbour, she could make out a grand ship flying the Rizucian flag. She knew it was waiting to take her home.

They reached the docks, and Elsa helped Joanna down from the Nokk. They walked up to her ship, and saw that it’s captain was standing by the lowered gangway waiting for her. The captain saw Joanna and bowed to her. Joanna was about to say her goodbyes to Elsa, when she noticed some activity at the Arendellian ship docked next to hers.

She saw a huge ginger man with his hands clasped together overseeing his crew loading crates onto a ship. He recognised Elsa and gave her a little wave. “Yoo hoo, Your Highness!” he called.

“Who’s that?” Joanna asked.

“Oh, that’s just Oaken,” Elsa replied. “He’s a trader. He must be getting ready for another trip to Rizucia.”

“A trader on his way to Rizucia? I wonder…” Joanna thought to herself as she walked closer to the crew. She squinted at one of them and thought that she recognised him.

“No, it couldn’t be…” she thought to herself.

“Henrik?” she asked out loud.

A young man looked up at her and smiled.

“Joanna?” he called in reply.

“Henrik!” she shouted happily as the two of them ran towards each other. They embraced, then kissed.

“Hey, I am not paying you to kiss, ja?” Oaken called out to Henrik.

Henrik smiled and called back. “Sorry boss! I thought I’d never see her again!”

Elsa sidled up to Oaken. “She’s the Princess of Rizucia, you know. I’m sure she could endorse your business if you played your cards right!”

“Oooh!” Oaken cooed excitedly as he pressed the tips of his fingers together. “Okay, five minutes break everyone, ja?”

“What on earth are you doing here?” Joanna asked Henrik as she smiled through happy tears. Joanna and Henrik walked over to Elsa and Oaken, hand in hand.

“So, what happened?” Elsa asked Henrik. “How did you come to work for Oaken?”

“I couldn’t stop thinking about Joanna after the ball,” Henrik confessed. “I resigned from the army the next day.”

Joanna looked up at him, almost shocked. “I told you not to give up your dreams for me!” Joanna scolded him.

“The army wasn’t my dream,” Henrik continued as he shook his head. “I didn’t have a great record, and my indiscretion on Queen Anna’s wedding day made General Mattias’ decision easy for him. We shook hands and he gave me a discharge. I went to the docks straightaway, looking for traders who regularly went to Rizucia, in the hope of seeing Joanna again. I found the boss here and he gave me a job!” he said as he gestured to Oaken.

“Army men make good workers!” Oaken’s added. He grabbed Henrik’s arm. “So strong and disciplined, ja?”

“Are you really on your way to Rizucia?” Joanna asked Henrik.

“We certainly are!” Henrik beamed. “It’s my third trip already!”

“Rizucians love Arendellian goods!” Oaken beamed. “And they have a lot of money. Business is booming, ja?”

“Well,” Joanna said nervously as she looked at the floor and ran her fingers through her hair. “Seeing as you are sailing to Rizucia anyway, would you like to sail with me on my ship?” she asked as she looked up and smiled.

“Are you kidding? Of course I would!” Henrik enthused. A beaming smile came across Joanna’s face. ”Wait, are your parents on board?” he asked, concerned.

“No, they’re back in Rizucia, they sent the ship to pick me up,” Joanna replied, still smiling. “I’ll be the most senior Rizucian on board!”

“Well then, I guess that settles it!” Henrik said as he raised a hand. “Is that alright boss?” he asked as he turned to Oaken.

“This is okay,” Oaken replied, “but I’m not paying you for the journey, ja? And you must not be late if you want to be paid for unloading the goods!”

“No problem boss!” Henrik said happily. “See you in Rizucia!”

“Just a second,” Joanna said to Henrik as she smiled. She turned to Elsa.

“I had a feeling you two would see each other again!” Elsa enthused. “Enjoy your journey home!” she giggled.

“Thank you Elsa!” Joanna said as she leaned forwards and hugged her. “I’ll try and not be a stranger. I know I have duties in Rizucia, but I’ll be back in Arendelle as soon as I can!”

“Don’t forget to write!” Elsa said softly.

“I won’t!” Joanna replied.

With that, Joanna took Henrik’s hand and walked him to her ship, waving at Elsa as she left. They boarded, and the ship set sail for Rizucia.

“Okay, back to work everyone!” Oaken cooed as he clapped his hands. “We must set sail too, ja?”

Elsa watched as Joanna’s ship sailed away to Rizucia. She knew that she wouldn’t be alone for long, as Anna and Kristoff would soon be back from their honeymoon. But she couldn’t wait to see Joanna again. They had both shared a magical upbringing that was no fault of their own, and they had both overcome it. Together, they shared a special bond. As she watched Joanna’s ship sail over the horizon, Elsa felt a pride and warmth in her heart. They may have started out as enemies, but after everything they’d been through, Elsa was proud to call Princess Joanna of Rizucia her friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that’s the Fire Queen! Thanks for sticking with it, I hope you enjoyed it! I welcome concrit, so if you think anything could be improved, don’t hesitate to leave a comment. Or just comment anyway if you’d like to share your thoughts. I’d love to know what you have to say!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Fire Queen Exposed](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27014686) by [orphan_account](https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account)




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